The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many FTRS contracts have been used to reinforce the Capita armed forces since that contract began; and how it is being met.
Mark Lancaster
The Recruiting Partnering Project contract has been reinforced with 17 additional Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contracts. These personnel have been used in a variety of roles supporting the Army’s recruiting effort.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report of the European Parliament Budgetary Control Committee on EU external aid and development programmes.
Baroness Verma
The report concerned is based on internal Commission reports from EU delegations in non-EU countries, many of which are fragile or conflict-affected. These reports identify potential problems during implementation, so that things can be put right in time. We have not seen the actual reports, as these are internal Commission management documents. The report highlights the implementation challenges and the steps taken by the Commission to manage these risks, including the withholding of funds where fraud is thought to be to an issue. If it is proven that money has been wasted we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he supports the aims of the Arms Trade Treaty.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Yes. The UK was a prime-mover for the creation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and continues to be an active advocate of a robust Treaty. The UK was amongst the first to sign the ATT in 2013 and ratified on 2 April 2014. We believe that the ATT will be stronger for every State which accedes to or ratifies it.
Universalisation will remain a key priority. The UK played an important role in the preparatory discussions leading to the First Conference of States Parties, and was a Vice-President of that Conference, brokering agreement on key decisions to establish sustainable mechanisms for the future viability of the ATT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 26816, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of travel expenses or paid car allowances.
George Eustice
All those within the Rural Payments Agency who receive paid car allowances have the job title of ‘RDT (Rural Development Team) Manager’.
Job titles for the staff in the other bodies listed in Question 26816 are not held centrally or stored alongside the allowance data and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing Poseidon P-8s acquired by the UK will be equipped with an (a) magnetic anomaly detector, (b) APS-143C rear mounted radar, (c) APS-153 advanced airborne sensor, (d) AN/APY-10 radar and (e) advanced airborne sensor.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the BBC of maintaining free television licences for people over 75 for the remainder of the current Parliament.
Greg Hands
Table 2.2 in Budget 2016 shows the savings to the Exchequer of the BBC taking on the cost of the over-75s TV licence concession which is phased in over the period 2018-19 to 2020-21.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on funding research into improving the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
George Freeman
The information requested is not available.
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spent £25.5 million on respiratory disease research in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£16.6 million in 2014/15) is in infrastructure for respiratory research where spend on specific topics such as the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure includes NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
The NIHR manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, which is funded by the Medical Research Council and NIHR. The programme is currently funding a £1.4 million efficacy and mechanism evaluation of treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with the addition of co-trimoxazole.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the use of digital technology for improving attainment across the curriculum.
Nick Gibb
The Government’s approach is not to be interested in technology for its own sake, but rather how it can help teachers work more effectively and children to achieve. The Department has an enabling role so schools can take advantage of the opportunities, but not promoting particular approaches.
We are focused on three areas:
Unlocking innovation in the ed-tech industry by moving to a common set of standards for data within schools and government.
Building the evidence base of what works so schools can make informed decisions.
Helping teachers and school leaders to build their knowledge and understanding of technology so that they are able confidently to make best use of it.
Technology presents a number of opportunities to improve outcomes for children. Used well, technology can be a huge aid to schools, but the international evidence shows that caution is needed to ensure technology is used to best effect.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the document Future Operating Environment 2035 published by the Ministry of Defence on 14 December 2015.
Earl Howe
Whilst formally released outside the Department in December, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) published the "Future Operating Environment 2035" (FOE35) internally so that it was available throughout the SDSR period. FOE35 was a source of information on the threats and challenges that Defence would be asked to address in the future. Consequently, SDSR decisions were informed by the Future Operating Environment work and, in particular, the need to focus on being more agile and innovative. The Ministry of Defence continues to consider how the future operating environment will shape the business of Defence. DCDC will take this work forward as it develops the Defence Joint Operating Concept and the Joint and environmental future operating concepts in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a Minister from his Department plans to attend the high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees hosted by UNHRC in Geneva on 30 March 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
No Foreign Office Minister is planning to attend this meeting. We understand that a Home Office Minister is considering attendance and will make a decision in the coming weeks.