The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the Common Travel Area of the UK voting to leave the EU.
Mr Ben Wallace
If the UK voted to leave the EU, it is not clear that the Common Travel Area could continue to operate with the UK outside the EU, and Ireland inside, in the same way that it did before both countries joined the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.
Sir Desmond Swayne
DFID has 2 HQ buildings in the UK, 22 Whitehall and Abercrombie House, East Kilbride. Both offices have a nursing mothers room and are equipped with baby changing facilities and fridges to allow the storage of baby milk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the introduction of the new funding system for supported housing, what guarantees they plan to give that guidelines for local authorities will be sufficiently robust to ensure that there are no trade-offs between different groups in need of supported housing.
Lord Freud
The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that a formal consultation document will be published shortly. This consultation will consult on appropriate safeguards to ensure that funding continues to support vulnerable groups and promotes the supply of supported housing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether universal credit claimants working 35 hours per week and being paid at the level of the national minimum wage will be entitled to request support from his Department’s in-work progression pilot.
Priti Patel
Subject to certain exclusions (including people who are unable to work or earn more due to caring or because of health conditions or disabilities; who are recent victims of domestic violence; who provide medical evidence of unfitness for work pending a work capability assessment; prisoners; claimants absent from GB for medical treatment; claimants who are recently bereaved; and claimants undergoing treatment for drug or alcohol addiction), claimants would be eligible for selection into the In-work Progression Randomised Control Trial if they have monthly employed earnings above the Administrative Earnings Threshold (£338 per month for a single person or £541 per month for a couple in 2015/16); and have earnings below the Conditionality Earnings Threshold, which is individually set but up to a maximum of the equivalent of 35 hours work at the national minimum wage.
In order to maintain the integrity of the randomised control trial, individuals who are ineligible for selection are not able to participate in the trial.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether they will meet their target of doubling exports by 2020.
Lord Maude of Horsham
Ministers have acknowledged that the £1 trillion target is a stretch; however, the Government has a clear strategy for increasing both the value of UK exports and the number of British exporters.
Progress in delivering against the target will be reported through the ONS.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their recommendation that members of the public donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for Nepal following the earthquakes in 2015, what assessment they have made of (1) how much money was donated to that appeal, (2) how soon after the emergency those funds were spent, (3) individual donors’ levels of satisfaction with how their donations were spent, (4) how that money was shared between NGOs that are members of the DEC and Nepalese NGOs, and (5) what effect that spending had.
Baroness Verma
Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK Government representatives in Nepal’s meet regularly with Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members to discuss the ongoing earthquake response, recovery and reconstruction efforts.
The DEC publishes regular updates on the Nepal response on their website and through social media. Information on how funds are being used is also shared directly to donors via email and post. The DEC has also commissioned and published an independent evaluation of the work, which I have attached for ease, of members in Nepal which particularly focuses on the emergency response phase.
The DEC is planning on producing a ‘one year on’ report which will be published on the anniversary of the earthquake. This will give details of how funds were raised, how they were disbursed to member agencies, how they have been spent and what has been achieved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it the Government’s policy to invite a delegation of parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as official observers of the forthcoming EU referendum.
Mr David Lidington
The Government welcomes observers – either from within the UK or from overseas – who wish to observe our electoral process. The Electoral Commission accredits observers who may, once accredited, observe proceedings at the poll, proceedings at the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers, and proceedings at the count. It is therefore open to parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to apply for accreditation as observers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is allocated to motorcycling safety in his Department’s budget for the current year.
Andrew Jones
Motorcycling safety is embedded within different areas including wider road safety policy, international vehicle standards and the THINK! road safety campaigns. As such there is not a separate budget allocation.
A significant role is also played by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which oversees the training and testing of motorcyclists.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to complete the training review, publication and roll-out of training programmes on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, for training delivered (1) in the UK to military officers from overseas, and (2) to foreign military forces.
Earl Howe
Our Armed Forces already undertake high quality training on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) but a training needs analysis (TNA), which will report shortly, is assessing the level of future WPS/PSVI training required for UK and overseas militaries. Every year around 150 military officers from more than 50 countries attend UK Defence Academy courses that include lectures on WPS; and students on the Advanced Command and Staff Course are offered an additional two week ‘elective’ on "Gender, War, and Armed Forces", which some of the overseas officers choose to attend.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also delivering WPS and PSVI in-country training to foreign militaries through the deployment of short term training teams and deployable experts, and via our overseas training establishments. The MOD is developing a standardised core syllabus for the training on WPS and PSVI delivered to foreign forces, which is expected to be finalised in January 2017. Building on the core syllabus, the training is then theatre-specific and tailored to the needs of troops being deployed, based on the level of training they have already received.
The MOD does not routinely publish its training materials but, as part of an accreditation process, it will share course materials with allies in NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the UK leaving the EU on the audio-visual industry.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.