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Tag: 2016

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33136, whether her Department provides guidance to academies on the consultation of local people on admission policies.

    Nick Gibb

    All state funded schools, including academies, are required to comply with the Statutory School Admissions Code. The Code provides clear guidance on how admission authorities are required to consult on their admission arrangements, including the requirement to consult locally, for a minimum of six weeks, before making any changes to admission arrangements, and where no changes are proposed, the requirement to consult at least once every seven years, to ensure that the admission arrangements continue to meet local need.

  • Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Sammy Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inspectors are employed by her Department to monitor the health of bee colonies across the UK.

    George Eustice

    The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), currently employs 1 National Bee Inspector, 7 Regional Bee Inspectors and 45 part-time, seasonal Bee Inspectors to monitor honey bee health in England. All Seasonal Bee Inspectors are employed throughout the beekeeping season (April to September) to look for bee pests and diseases and provide training to beekeepers on good husbandry practices. The NBU’s inspectorate carries out a total of over 5,000 apiary inspections each year.

    Bee Health is a devolved matter. However, there are currently 10 bee inspectors who are contracted by APHA to carry out bee inspections and training in Wales. They are funded by the Welsh Government.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from (a) employees of and (b) agencies connected with ARM Holdings plc on the takeover of that business; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    I have not received any such representations.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times unsanctioned Russian military aircraft have been detected entering UK airspace in the last 12 months.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In the last 12 months there have been no unauthorised incursions by any foreign military aircraft into sovereign UK air space, which projects 12 miles off shore or to mutually agreed mid-points between adjacent nations over narrow straits such as the Straits of Dover. Russian military aircraft activity has remained in international airspace at all times. The UK civil air traffic region and the NATO Air Policing Area, for which the UK have responsibility for monitoring, include large areas of international air space through which foreign military traffic may legally transit.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the procedures set out in the procurement policy note, Measures to promote tax compliance published in February 2014.

    Matthew Hancock

    These new measures on tax compliance, introduced in 2013, enable government departments to exercise their power to exclude firms bidding for government contracts where they have been non-compliant in meeting their legal tax obligations.

    The policy is compatible with the existing procurement process and is being updated to clarify the use of mandatory and discretionary exclusion criteria, contained in the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015, concerning tax compliance.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, what his policy is on the appointment of hon. Members from the constituent districts to the scrutiny, overview and audit panels of combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 February (HL5631), what measures they are taking to address the shortfall of personnel in (1) the regular, and (2) the reserve, battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

    Earl Howe

    The Army continues to offer exciting opportunities to young people. Over 7,800 new recruits joined the regular Army in financial year 2014-15 with intake increasing during financial year 2015-16, up to 29 February 2016 7,260 have joined the army of which, 175 Regulars and 140 Reserves have joined the Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

    There are two national recruitment campaigns currently running. The Army’s ‘A Better You’ for soldiers continues throughout 2016. After a principal focus on Regulars between June and March there will be a special emphasis on reserve-specific recruiting in April to June, September to October and January to February 2017. ‘A Better You’ will continue through the year with the reserve message forming an important aspect of the overarching campaign.

    The Army’s current officer recruiting campaign, ‘With Heart. With Mind’, is aimed at attracting potential officer candidates into regular and reserve service. ‘With Heart. With Mind’ will have a specific emphasis on reserve officers during the period of March to July 2016, and again in November.

    The national campaigns continue to be supported by regional level efforts. During financial year 2015-16 there were over 2,000 community engagement events in Scotland and nearly 300 targeted recruitment events.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will join the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has joined the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition as a government partner.

    The UK supports carbon pricing and carbon markets as a means of driving cost effective decarbonisation to help reach the long-term goal agreed in Paris: to keep global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees and make efforts to deliver 1.5 degrees.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that there is a formal mechanism for Colombian civil society involvement in the decision-making process for allocation of the EU Trust Fund for the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The EU Trust Fund will become established following formal signature of a peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Civil society can play a key role in successful implementation of a Colombian peace deal. In discussions with the EU institutions, the UK has repeatedly encouraged inclusion of civil society organisations in the EU Trust Fund draft strategy, and continues to promote civil society involvement in delivering the Trust Fund priorities once the fund is operational. Through meetings in Bogota, the EU has set in place a consultation mechanism for civil society organisations. The first formal consultation with NGOs took place on 28 June.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent on overnight hotel accommodation since it was created.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Government publishes the relevant information on the costs of Ministerial and senior official hotel accommodation, as well as other expenses incurred on overseas trips, on a quarterly basis. Wherever possible Ministers and officials use overnight accommodation in UK Permanent Representations and Embassies to reduce the costs of travel abroad.