The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the correspondence her Department has received from hon. Members has related to matters about visas in the last 12 months.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Published data between April 2015 and March 2016 shows UKVI received a total of 32095 enquiries from hon. Members. Of these, management information shows that approximately 18% related to visas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45646, on what basis she will make recommendations to HM Treasury on allocation of remaining funding from the £700 million uplift to flood defence and resilience measures.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Proposals to improve flood defences are made by Defra and its agencies on the basis of the economic benefits, which are assessed in terms of the potential flood damages avoided, the current level of risk and the number homes that would be better protected by the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proposal the Government plans to put to the second UN open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK and the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States voted against the Resolution “Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations” in the UN General Assembly First Committee which established an Open Ended Working Group. The Government believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hain on 2016-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what correspondence (1) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and (2) the Minister of State for Skills, Nick Boles, have received from Welsh Government ministers regarding the Trade Union Bill; what replies they have made to that correspondence; and whether they will place copies of such correspondence in the Library of the House.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill.
As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library.
The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has produced a cross-departmental strategy for the UK to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK Government as a whole is committed to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s manifesto sets out the plan of action for which it will be held accountable by the British people. This includes commitments relevant to each of the Goals, and it will guide our efforts to achieve them. The Global Goals are the starting point for, and will be embedded across, DFID’s work.
DFID is the lead Department on the Goals, and will be working with the Cabinet Office across Government to ensure a joined-up approach to implementation. Other Government Departments will lead on their respective policy areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, to which regions the 50 Enterprise Coordinators have been appointed.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is continuing to make excellent progress to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people, including growing its Enterprise Advisers Network. The CEC is responsible for the administrative resources provided to the network. We therefore suggest contacting the company directly for detailed information about the network, including regions to which Enterprise Co-ordinators and Advisers have been appointed. The CEC can be contacted at info@careersandenterprise.co.uk.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the remarks by the Prime Minister on 9 May regarding the “risk” to “peace and stability on our continent” should the UK vote to leave the EU, what contingency plans they are preparing for deploying Army Reserves.
Lord Bridges of Headley
In his speech on 9 May, the Prime Minister was clear that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off by remaining a member of the EU. If the UK were to leave the EU, the withdrawal negotiation would need to address a wide range of difficult issues, including co-operation on foreign policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timescale is for closing the 1993 and 2003 child support allowance IT systems before they reach end of usable life.
Caroline Nokes
The Department’s timetable for the closure of the 1993 and 2003 child support allowance IT systems is currently under consideration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of livestock-associated MRSA in live breeder pigs and meat products imported from (a) Denmark and (b) other European countries; what proportion of such imports are voluntarily tested for livestock-associated MRSA; and what analysis her Department has undertaken of the costs and benefits of making it mandatory to test such imports for MRSA.
George Eustice
Livestock associated meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is not a notifiable organism. There is no mandatory requirement to test imports of live breeding pigs or pig meat for the presence of LA-MRSA.
The National Pig Association recommends in its Import Protocol that imported pigs be screened for the presence of MRSA. Such testing is done on a voluntary and private basis.
Any controls or testing introduced for an organism must be proportionate to the risk posed by it. Current advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) is that LA-MRSA poses a low risk to human health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release of 13 January 2016, entitled Transport sector all geared up for winter weather, what plans his Department has to ensure safety of cyclists in the event of bad weather.
Mr Robert Goodwill
We would advise all road users including cyclists to take extra care when cycling in wet or icy conditions. In particular when it is icy, cyclists should to stick to treated roads wherever possible.
The responsibility for the treatment and maintenance of the road network rests with the relevant highway authority. Section 41a of the Transport Act 1980 as amended, places highway authorities “under a duty to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow and ice”.
In this respect, in October last year I wrote to the leaders of all local highway authorities reminding them of their responsibilities regarding preparation for winter and the need for robust contingency plans in place to mitigate against any significant weather we may encounter over the winter period.
The Department for Transport (DfT) also continues to play its part to ensure we stay through the 2015/16 winter season well prepared. This includes continuing to maintain a substantial national emergency salt reserve, first set up by the Coalition government, and having a robust distribution process in place, if for any reason this salt of last resort is needed to be allocated.
The Department has also published a small amount of additional guidance for highway authorities in Local Transport Note 1/12 “Shared Use Routes for Cyclists and Pedestrians”.