The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of plans by the Israeli government to use its security services to disrupt and gather information on supporters of a boycott of Israel; and if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of such plans on UK citizens.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of media reporting on this issue. No assessment has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their representatives at the IMF and other international financial institutions will make clear that international financial assistance should not be made available to the government of Zimbabwe unless and until it enacts and implements the provisions of the constitution of Zimbabwe in full.
Baroness Verma
The UK continues to emphasise that any future financial assistance to Zimbabwe from the international financial institutions will need to be based on evidence of comprehensive reforms.
We welcome the inclusion of the commitment to align legislation with the Constitution in the package of reforms being discussed with the IMF and the Government of Zimbabwe’s letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund Board.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of electoral registration arrangements for UK nationals abroad in (a) general and (b) Germany in advance of the EU referendum.
Chris Skidmore
Online registration has made the application process for overseas electors easier than ever before. Between the start of the EU referendum campaign on 18 April and the extended registration deadline on 9 June over 151,000 overseas electors submitted an application to register to vote.
The Cabinet Office does not hold data on overseas elector applications by country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people with dual Palestinian and British citizenship have been (a) refused entry to, (b) detained by and (c) deported by Israel in the last 12 months.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Palestinians are not allowed to enter Israel through Ben-Gurion Airport. Dual British/Palestinian nationals enter on their Palestinian documents through Allenby Bridge. We are not aware of any Dual nationals who have been refused entry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what basis his Department assessed the effect of changes to the (a) annual allowance and (b) lifetime allowance on pension contributions.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government does not hold its own records on total accumulated pension wealth, only on pension contributions. For the purposes of the Lifetime Allowance, officials have used data from the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, which includes estimates of pension wealth.
The Government assessed the effects of changes to the Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance by considering how many people would have to reduce their saving in response to these reductions. This methodology was agreed with the OBR.
The reduction in the Lifetime Allowance will affect only 4% of savers currently approaching retirement. The Lifetime Allowance will be reduced to £1 million from April, but the average pension savings of someone approaching retirement is only £85,000.
Just 1% of savers make contributions of £40,000 per year, the level of the Annual Allowance since April 2014. The average saver contributes £6,000 per year.
The introduction of the Tapered Annual Allowance for individuals who earn over £150,000 in April 2016 will impact less than 2% of people saving into a pension.
The Government laid out its modelling on the effect of changes to the Annual and Lifetime Allowances on pension contributions in its policy costings documents at the March and Summer Budgets 2015.
For changes to the Lifetime Allowance, the Wealth and Assets Survey was used to estimate pension wealth, and this was projected forward using assumed pension contributions and estimates of the real rate of return on pensions savings taken from the OECD and the Government Actuary’s Department.
For the Tapered Annual Allowance, modelling used estimates from the Survey of Personal Incomes, HMRC operational data on personal pension contributions, the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, and the Occupational Pension Scheme Survey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether their policy for reducing carbon emissions in the UK over the next five years is consistent with their policy for reducing the average concentration of air pollution, and whether they will publish data relevant to that assessment.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Improving the quality of our air and reducing carbon emissions are important priorities for Her Majesty’s Government. Later this year we will be publishing detailed plans on how we will deliver against Carbon Budgets, including information about how these measures can also support air quality objectives. Further information on the synergies across these policy objectives was outlined in DEFRA’s air quality plan, Improving Air Quality in the UK – tackling nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities, December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many initially rejected visa applications have been reconsidered as a result of changes in circumstances during the assessment process.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many places through Health Education England have been available for Healthcare Cadet apprenticeships in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16; and what forecast he has made of the number of such places that will be made available in 2016-17.
Ben Gummer
Health Education England (HEE) is committed to supporting a range of vocational based learning programmes, including the healthcare cadet apprenticeships in the North West.
Health Education England North West make approximately 400 places available through the programme every year. HEE undertook an extensive consultation with National Health Service trusts and dental practices, about the Healthcare Cadet Scheme. On the basis of the feedback received, HEE decided to close the programme and have developed a new model for vocational training to start in April 2017.
Healthcare cadetships are available in other areas. No data is collected centrally on these.
There are several Healthcare Cadet apprenticeship schemes in operation across England. No data is available on national spending on these schemes. No national assessment has been made on the effectiveness of Healthcare Cadet schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Leader of the House what was the average time in (1) the 2015–16 Session, and (2) each of the last five Sessions before that, between the publication of a select committee report and its being debated; and how many select committee reports published in the 2015–16 Session and the previous five Sessions were undebated (1) 12 months, and (2) six months, after publication.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
My office does not hold the information requested.
My Noble Friend the Government Chief Whip makes regular offers of time for debates on Select Committee reports to the Committee Office. The Committee Office then coordinate among Chairmen to determine which reports are debated on such occasions and in what order.
Sixteen select committee reports were debated in the last session and debates on nine reports have been arranged thus far this session.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the long-term future of S4C.
Matt Hancock
We are strong supporters of S4C and Welsh language broadcasting . We have committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 which will look at a range of issues including funding arrangements, remit, accountability and governance.
In order for S4C to continue to provide a first-class service and have a sustainable future, we announced (on Wednesday 3rd February) an extra £400,000 funding for 2016/17.
As set out in the BBC White Paper, the BBC will maintain a commitment to Welsh language broadcasting services – we expect the BBC to continue its partnership with S4C to deliver TV services in Wales during the next Charter period.