The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Kenyan government on the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp.
Mr Philip Hammond
The Secretary of State for International Development, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) discussed the announcement about the Dadaab refugee camp with Kenya at the World Humanitarian Summit on 25 May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of potential savings to NHS budgets were the targets set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy to be met.
Andrew Jones
We have published a report commissioned on the health benefits of active travel “Claiming the Health Dividend: A summary and discussion of value for money estimates from studies of investment in walking and cycling” https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/371096/claiming_the_health_dividend.pdf.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Skills Plan, what her policy is on the future provision of BTECs.
Robert Halfon
As set out in our Post 16 Skills Plan, we will take forward the recommendations of the Sainsbury Review to put in place a world-class technical option that provides preparation for highly skilled employment. The technical option will be a prestigious and high-quality option for 16 year olds as an alternative to academic study. Applied general qualifications such as BTECs are not designed to be part of the technical education option. We plan to review the contribution of these qualifications to preparing students for higher education and the impact any reform would have on widening participation. We will announce our decisions later in the year.
It is important that individuals are able to switch between the academic and technical options so that students’ options are not closed down. Flexible learning will be important to learners of all ages, given the changing labour market. We accepted the Sainsbury panel’s recommendation that there should be appropriate bridging courses to make movement between the two options easily accessible and will be looking at options for putting these courses in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the cycle to work scheme to meeting the Government’s objective to double the number of journeys made by bicycle by 2020.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Cycle to Work Scheme is an employee benefit covered by an exemption and therefore employers do not have to make an annual tax return regarding the benefit.
The Cycle to Work Alliance (made up of Cyclescheme, Cycle Solutions, Evans Cycles and Halfords) have provided figures of the take up from Jan –September 2015 141,454 people participated in the scheme.
A recent survey by the Alliance showed that 62% of participants in the scheme were either non-cyclists, novice cyclists (cycling less than once a month) or occasional cyclists (cycling once or twice a month) before joining the scheme. Having joined the scheme 79% of respondents described themselves as enthusiastic cyclists.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on 16 November 2015, what equipment his Department plans to procure under the £2 billion programme of new investment in the special forces.
Mr Philip Dunne
As the Department announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in November 2015, the additional investment in the UK Special Forces will include the acquisition of advanced communications equipment, information capabilities, specialist weapons and clothing and see upgrades to helicopters and transport aircraft. It is long standing policy not to comment on further detail of Special Forces. This programme of investment will enhance UK Special Forces’ counter-terrorism capabilities and their ability to operate covertly around the world, and allow them to deploy further and faster.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of EC-01-19-01/20130205-Mil Cap Air Safety Management Plan 2103.
Penny Mordaunt
I have placed a copy of the Mil Cap Air Safety Management Plan 2013 in the Library of the House, although I am withholding Annexes D and H of the document because these consist of personal data which cannot be released.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase or reduce total taxation as a percentage of GDP over the remainder of this Parliament.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that public sector current receipts (PSCR) will be 36.3% of GDP in 2015-16. As a share of GDP, PSCR is forecast to increase over the remainder of the Parliament. The OBR forecast PSCR to be 36.9% of GDP in 2016-17 and 2017-18, 37% of GDP in 2018-19, and reaching 37.5% of GDP in the final year of this Parliament. However, the Budget represents a net tax cut, worth £3bn over the scorecard period (2016-17 to 2020-21). The Budget backs business with a major overhaul of corporation tax reliefs, a lower corporation tax rate and a big reduction in small business rates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with which local authorities her Department has held discussions on the possibility of local authorities running multi-academy trusts.
Edward Timpson
Regional Schools Commissioners discuss the options for schools to convert to academy status with local authorities on a regular basis – and in the case of underperforming schools in particular, those discussions focus on which multi-academy trusts are the most effective way of securing sustainable improvement.
The White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere makes clear that we want to ensure that we make best use of talented staff currently within local authorities to establish or join multi-academy trusts. Our discussions with local authorities will continue to look at the options available to harness that talent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on conscientious objection for midwives asked to (a) advise on and (b) participate in abortions.
Jane Ellison
Section 4 of the Abortion Act provides that “no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any statutory or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection”. In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that this is limited to those staff who actually take part in treatment administered in a hospital or other approved place and does not include ancillary, administrative and managerial tasks that might be associated with treatment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what he plans the timescale to be for the planned public consultation after the Government has made its decision on airport expansion.
Mr John Hayes
The Government will take a view on the timing of a public consultation once it has reached a decision on its preferred scheme.