Tag: 2016

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of his Department are involved in the renegotiations of the UK’s tax treaties with developing countries.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs’ Tax Treaty Team, which at October 2016 has 10.3 full time equivalent members of staff, is responsible for negotiating the UK’s tax treaties. The make-up of the negotiating programme will vary from year to year which means it is not possible to put an exact figure on the number of staff involved with negotiations with developing countries.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 that were initially refused by her Department were subsequently granted in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    Quarterly and annual statistics on Freedom of Information requests received by a number of central government monitored bodies (including all departments of state), including the number and outcomes of internal reviews of FOI responses, are published by the Cabinet Office at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

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  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if the Government will provide additional funding for the Police Service of Northern Ireland to deal with legacy issues.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Matters relating to policing and justice are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. As a consequence, responsibility for funding policing and justice in Northern Ireland (including for Troubles-related issues) rests with the Northern Ireland Executive.

    The budget for the Northern Ireland Executive includes funding from Her Majesty’s Treasury in accordance with its funding policy. The funding the Executive receives per capita from the UK Government is more than any other region or country in the UK – 25% above the UK average. All devolved allocation and spending decisions are a matter for the Executive.

    Through the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, the UK Government has undertaken to provide financial packages giving the Executive up to £2.5 billion of additional spending power. This includes an additional £150 million to support the proposed new institutions to deal with the past.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of state (a) primary and (b) secondary students who are learning a musical instrument; and how many such students are learning that musical instrument for free.

    Nick Gibb

    Music is compulsory for all children in key stages 1-3 in maintained schools. One of the requirements of the National Curriculum is that pupils are taught to play musical instruments. Schools are not permitted to charge for teaching that is required by the National Curriculum.

    The Government is investing £75m in 2015-16 in a network of music education hubs. Music education hubs have four core roles, one of which is to ensure that every child aged 5-18 learns to play a musical instrument through whole class ensemble teaching. Data published by Arts Council England in March 2015 showed that 596,820 pupils in the academic year 2013/14 learned to play an instrument through whole class ensemble teaching. This teaching is provided free for pupils.

    The data is available here: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/Music_Education_Hubs_2014_Report_final_March_2015.pdf.

    Arts Council England will publish data for the 2014-15 academic year in due course. This will include more extensive data on the number of pupils who have singing or instrumental lessons.

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  • Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to support the formation of the transitional government of national unity in South Sudan.

    James Duddridge

    In January I visited Juba and held meetings with President Salva Kiir, members of the opposition and civil society. In the margins of the African Union Summit I met with the Leader of the Opposition Riek Machar. In all those meetings I emphasised the importance of forming the transitional government without delay. The UK has also worked closely with key countries in the region and in the UN Security Council to build pressure on the parties to form a government of national unity.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to provide development assistance to native Tibetans in Tibet.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not have a bilateral programme in the Tibetan region.

    Tibet is included within an Asia Regional programme which helps communities adapt to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation in the Mount Kailash area, the source of South Asia’s largest rivers. This area includes Tibet, India and Nepal. DFID has also funded assessments of glacial melt and rivers in the Himalayas, which contain findings relevant to Tibet.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of increasing the minimum age for women receiving smear tests to 25 on cervical cancer detection rates in women under that age.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2012 the United Kingdom National Screening Committee made a recommendation that the age of first invitation for cervical screening should be 25. This was based on a review which looked at the latest available evidence on risks and benefits for cervical screening in women aged 20-24.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rural crime on farmers and other rural businesses.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The 2015 Commercial Victimisation Survey found that 24 per cent of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises had experienced at least one incident of crime (excluding online crime) a statistically significant fall of six percentage points compared with the 2013 Survey. Vandalism, theft and burglary were the most common crime types experienced by this sector. On average there were 330 incidents of online crime per 1,000 premises in this sector, which is around a third of the incidence rate for ‘traditional’ crimes against this sector. The majority of online crime incidents involved computer viruses.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on support for the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government shares the concerns of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law and indefinite national service.

    We have made clear to the Eritrean Government the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system and fully implementing its own constitution. We are also urging the Government of Eritrea to increase further its engagement with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which recently visited Eritrea and was allowed access for the first time to a place of detention. We are supporting UN and EU programmes set up to address recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review on human rights, and are funding a programme on strengthening the rule of law implemented by the Slynn Foundation.

    The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur is an important tool for the international community to strengthen its engagement with Eritrea. The UK Statement to the Human Rights Council on 21 June called on both the Special Rapporteur and the Government of Eritrea to consider ways that they might work together constructively to enhance the progress Eritrea has begun to make in its human rights observance.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase quota levels for the under-10 metres fishing fleet.

    George Eustice

    Defra is in the final stages of a permanent quota realignment exercise which will represent a14% uplift in the amount of quota the inshore fleet currently receives.

    For species subject to the discard ban from January 2016, we have announced that the non-sector pools, which includes fishing vessels under 10 metres, will receive the first 100 tonnes of any quota uplift received and 10% of any remaining uplift. For 2016 this represents more than 1,000 tonnes of uplift to support the non-sector in their adaptation to the landing obligation.

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is currently determining the 2016 monthly catch limits for the inshore fleet in light of the December 2015 Fisheries Council agreement. This quota will be used to maximise the income that can be achieved, while minimising discards for the non-sector fleet. The MMO welcomes views on quota management and utilisation of quota uplift for the non–sector via the MMO coastal quota advisory meetings and monthly quota consultations.