Tag: 2016

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for providing unmonitored mobile and internet communications to the people of North Korea as a contribution to breaking that country’s information blockade.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The provision of mobile and electronic communications are strictly controlled by the North Korean government. Supplying the population with mobile and internet equipment would require the consent and cooperation of the regime. Establishing an alternative system without the agreement of the North Korea government could be viewed as a violation of local laws; all our Missions overseas must abide by the law of their host countries and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We regularly raise human rights concerns and freedom of expression.

01/01/2023
Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if officials in his Department will have discussions with officials in the Department of Health on the establishment of a ring-fenced fund for local authorities to be able to disregard military compensation payments in financial assessments for social care.

Mr Marcus Jones

Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments through the War Disablement Pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. The latter applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.

Since October 2012, Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme have been disregarded. The Department of Health has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how War Disablement Pension payments are treated. Currently, the first £10 per week of these payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how these payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.

It is not the policy of this Government to ring-fence funding for particular purposes. This is to allow local authorities the flexibility to manage their own resources in the most efficient manner.

01/01/2023
Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) sporting stakeholders on setting up an independent body to fund research into anti-doping in sport; and if he will make a statement.

David Evennett

The World Anti-Doping Agency, to which the UK pays an annual fee, conducts research into anti-doping in sport that is utilised by national anti-doping organisations including UK Anti-Doping.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to make its leaflet on continuing membership of the EU accessible to people with (a) learning, (b) visual and (c) other disabilities.

John Penrose

The leaflet has been made available on Gov.uk and is compatible with assistive technology, and in hard copy in English and Welsh. An audio version and large print version are also available on Gov.uk. CDs of the audio version are being sent to those that are not able to access the website. A braille version will be available on request.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to oppose the provisional implementation of the EU-Canada trade agreement when it is discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in June 2016.

Anna Soubry

The EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) will deliver jobs and growth for the UK, with independent analysis suggesting the deal could be worth up to £1.3 billion per year to the UK economy.

We expect CETA to be a “mixed” agreement, covering areas of both EU and Member State competence. In this case, the EU Council could decide to provisionally apply the parts of CETA which fall within EU competence. The Government supports this approach as it will allow the UK to benefit from provisions such as reduced duties on imports and exports as soon as possible. This has been discussed with the European Commission on a number of occasions, most at the Trade Foreign Affairs Council that took place in Brussels this month. The Council will negotiate which provisions of CETA should be applied provisionally by the EU once the final text has been received.

01/01/2023
Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities provide sufficient short breaks to children with life-shortening conditions in England.

Edward Timpson

Since 2011, local authorities have been under a duty to provide a range of short breaks services and to publish a local Short Breaks Duty Statement showing what services are available, how they are responding to the needs of local parent carers, and how short breaks can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities are responsible for funding this short breaks provision.

Between April 2011 and March 2015, the government made available £800 million to local authorities for short break provision, along with an additional £80 million of capital funding for equipment and infrastructure.

Between April 2015 and March 2016, we awarded £250,555 to the Short Breaks Partnership (a consortium made up of Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Action for Children, and KIDS) to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing, and taking up short breaks for disabled children. The Department for Education has allocated £200m funding over the next 4 years to support innovation and improvement to children’s social work practice. We are currently considering how we can use some of this funding to support local innovative approaches to short breaks for disabled children and their families and for making services more accessible.

The Department’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Advisory Team is continuing to offer support and challenge to local authorities to help make sure they meet all of their statutory requirements and that quality continues to improve. From this summer, there will be opportunities through the new Ofsted/Care Quality Commission SEND inspections framework for local areas to consider how well they are providing for the education, health and care needs of those with SEND, including their need for short breaks services. In addition, Together for Short lives, the UK charity for children and young people with life limiting conditions, received £551,029 from the Department for Education over a 3 year period – between April 2013 and March 2016, to help ensure children and young people with life limiting conditions benefited from the SEND reforms.

01/01/2023
Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects the Dormant Assets Commission to report.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Commission on Dormant Assets is expected to report its findings and recommendations to Government in December 2016.

01/01/2023
– 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether members of the political cabinet” have access to (1) matters covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989

Lord Bridges of Headley

Paragraph 4.8 of the Cabinet Manual sets out that political Cabinets are convened by the Prime Minister, but they are not attended by officials. Sensitive papers, such as those covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989, are not distributed to political Cabinets.

01/01/2023

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25004, (a) for how many days (a) HMS Daring, (b) HMS Dauntless, (c) HMS Diamond, (d) HMS Dragon, (e) HMS Defender and (f) HMS Duncan were deployed on operations and (b) in which theatre they were so deployed in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013 and (iv) 2014.

Penny Mordaunt

The information requested is provided below. In answering this question, I have defined ‘deployed on operations’ as times away from UK waters for extended periods.

In 2011, the Type 42 Destroyers were deployed on operations. No Type 45 Destroyer was deployed away from the UK.

2012

Ship	Deployment	Number of Days
HMS DARING	Operation Kipion: Gulf Region	210
HMS DAUNTLESS	Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South)	209
HMS DIAMOND	Operation Kipion: Gulf Region	191

2013

Ship	Deployment	Number of Days
HMS DRAGON	Operation Kipion: Gulf Region	254
HMS DARING	Global Deployment	277

2014

Ship	Deployment	Number of Days
HMS DIAMOND	Operation Recsyr: protecting and escorting ships transporting chemicals from Syria	163
HMS DEFENDER	Operation Kipion: Gulf Region	193
HMS DRAGON	Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South)	198

When not deployed on operations, all Type 45 ships would have undertaken activities such as sea trials, training, engagement, provisioning or been in a maintenance period.

01/01/2023

Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all supply agencies offer supply teachers’ pay and conditions at the same rate as national teachers’ pay.

Nick Gibb

Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers which includes deciding whether to use private agencies to recruit and manage them. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency, this is a private commercial arrangement between the school and the agency, and the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) does not apply. The agency can also decide the rate of pay and conditions of employment.

If agencies do not appear to be complying with legislation they can be investigated by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI). The EASI is part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and has powers to investigate agencies for possible breaches of the law and to prosecute them where there is sufficient evidence. The EASI works with agencies, employers and workers to make sure that employment rights are complied with, particularly for vulnerable workers.

Conditions for agency workers have been improved through the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) and supply teachers are entitled to the same pay and employment conditions they would be entitled to receive if they were employed directly by a maintained school or academy. This is subject to a qualifying period of 12 continuous calendar weeks working in the same role with the same school or local authority. The Regulations can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employing-agency-supply-teachers

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01/01/2023