Tag: 2016

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of unregistered schools in England.

    Edward Timpson

    We are currently investigating institutions that may be operating as unregistered independent schools in England, as referred to by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in his recently published letter. We will make a statement about progress in due course.

    It is important to recognise that new settings come to our attention and existing ones close, or are confirmed not to be operating as schools on a regular basis.

    Sir Michael Wilshaw’s published letter can be accessed on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregistered-schools-ofsted-advice-note

    “

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the cost to (a) government and (b) industry of the Defence Growth Partnership (i) was in 2014-15, (ii) was in 2015-16 and (iii) is for 2016-17.

    Jesse Norman

    The Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) is an industry led group, established jointly by industry and government to deliver export-led growth within the Defence sector. It does not receive any public funding. Since 2014, it has enabled joint industry and government resource equivalent to £50 million over three years to achieve its agenda: £30 million for strengthening the UK Defence & Security Organisation and establishing the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC). The remaining £20 million is currently delivered through a number of initiatives supporting the DGP’s growth agenda: establishment of the Centre of Maritime Intelligent Systems (CMIS); Dual Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) cluster and the MOD Innovation Challenge fund.

    Government and industry have committed through a mix of cash and resource equivalent to £3.8m in 2015-16 to the UKDSC and a similar figure is predicted for 2016-17. As of 1 April 2016, there were 4 staff directly employed by the UKDSC and 28 secondees from across the 16 DGP Partner Companies.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department sought legal advice in advance of redrafting the Building Bulletin 100 guidance relating to sprinkler systems in school buildings; and what assessment her Department made of that advice.

    Nick Gibb

    We are currently consulting on updating the Fire Safety Design for Schools – Building Bulletin 100 (BB100) guidance as it is nearly 10 years old. However, there is no change to the policy regarding the installation of sprinklers in new school buildings, and the requirement for a proper fire risk assessment to determine the need for sprinklers in new schools is consistent with the BB100 guidance from 2007.

    All new schools are assessed on a case-by-case basis for fire safety and, where it is concluded that sprinklers must be fitted to protect property or keep children safe, they will be. All schools must comply with building and fire safety regulations.

    As there has been no change in policy, no legal advice was required in the development of the draft updated BB100 guidance.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political, economic and security situation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I visited Erbil in December where I met a range of Kurdistan Regional Government ministers and officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, civil society contacts and members of the British military deployment in northern Iraq. I welcomed the recent military progress achieved by the Kurdish Security Forces against Daesh, particularly the liberation of Sinjar in November, and was able to see firsthand the contribution of British military training, equipment and support to counter-Daesh efforts. I encouraged progress on implementation of the economic reforms needed to manage the current economic downturn, as well as a rapid return to negotiations with Baghdad to secure a sustainable revenue sharing arrangement. To members of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and political party representatives, I underlined the importance of all the parties working together to resolve the issue of the KRG presidency peacefully, in the spirit of compromise and respecting democratic principles.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of his Department’s £13.9 million First World War commemoration funding will be provided to projects in Northern Ireland; and to which such projects that funding will be provided.

    David Evennett

    The Heritage Lottery fund have allocated £13.9m to 58 projects in Northern Ireland to commemorate the First World War. The projects are spread across Northern Ireland and two are in South Antrim. I have asked the HLF to write to you with details of all the projects.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from the Welsh Government on applying to the EU Solidarity Fund as a result of flooding in Wales in late 2015 and early 2016.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government has been working with Wales and Scotland to understand their impacts from the flooding events of 2015 and early 2016. These conversations will continue to enable us to demonstrate the impacts to the UK for an EU Solidarity Fund application.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of UK firms based in the East Midlands that trade with other EU member states; and how many people are employed by each such firm.

    Anna Soubry

    HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

    HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, when he plans to take a decision on the details of the Government’s support for the UK bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup; and if he will do so in time for the Rugby Football League to meet the deadline of 30 June 2016.

    David Evennett

    Pursuant to my answer of 13 April 2016, my officials have been working closely with the Rugby Football League and the government is aware of the deadline for submitting the bid to the Rugby League International Federation. The government will make a decision in due course, ahead of this deadline.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times she has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.

    George Eustice

    The Secretary of State has visited Scotland on two separate occasions since the 2015 General Election and met:

    Diageo

    Scotch Whisky Association

    Scotland Food and Drink

    NFU Scotland

    Quality Meat Scotland

    Ian Duncan MEP

    Ruth Davidson MSP

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to reform UK Trade and Investment.

    Greg Hands

    UKTI’s functions have been elevated and integrated into the Department for International Trade. In line with the Secretary of State’s ambitious plans, we will focus resource on 191 priority global high-value export campaigns, and 250 campaigns for Foreign Direct Investment. We are also creating new, targeted digital support services and working closely with an increasing breadth of commercial partners to drive both export value, and the number of UK companies exporting.