The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not directly employ cleaners. Cleaners employed by the Department’s contractors are paid £8.25 an hour.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance to schools on how to identify and manage incidences of parental alienation.
Edward Timpson
Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right of all children and young people, regardless of their family situation, and the government will continue to review how schools, police, social services and other agencies work together to protect all children.
The Department published updated statutory guidance in 2015 on Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. All school and college staff should be aware of the various forms of abuse, including emotional harm, so that they are able to identify children in need of help and support and know what action to take. This would include recognising where children are suffering as the result of family relationship breakdown.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chloe Smith on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her Department’s policies on funding the UN Relief and Works Agency of the use of funding from that agency by a Palestinian NGO to organise a tree-planting ceremony honouring people including Palestinian terrorists.
Mr Desmond Swayne
We have raised this allegation with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) who have confirmed that UNRWA has no present relationship with the NGO in question, Union of Agriculture Workers Committees (UAWC). In monitoring DFID support for UNRWA, we pay stringent attention to their neutrality policy and values of peace. We maintain a close dialogue with UNRWA on neutrality issues, and we take allegations of incitement very seriously indeed, raising them whenever appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department holds on adjusted mortality in care homes managed by each major provider.
Alistair Burt
The Department does not hold information centrally on adjusted mortality in care homes managed by each major provider.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to prevent self-employed adults with violent convictions providing extracurricular classes or sessions to children for sports or activities which have no governing body.
Edward Timpson
Schools are aware of their responsibilities in ensuring that any self-employed individual who is providing extra-curricular classes or sessions on their behalf has been subject to the necessary and appropriate checks, which could include checking individual status with the relevant sports or activity governing body.
If those checks reveal convictions for violence the school will then determine the appropriateness or otherwise of allowing that individual to continue to provide classes or sessions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in Israel and the Palestinian territories were supported from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund in 2016-17; and what the level of funding and support was for each such project.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The following projects are funded from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) during the current financial year (2016/17). These are projected spend figures and so are subject to change.
– Small training team as part of the United States Security Coordinator to provide institutional development and professionalisation of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces. £2.23m.
– Technical assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior (MOI) to improve its capability to provide oversight and management of the security services. £1.8m.
– Support to EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support. £0.067m.
– Empowerment of young Israeli leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities. £0.3m.
– UK-Israel Informal Security Dialogue. £0.025m.
– Legal Aid and Settlement Monitoring in the West Bank. £1.5m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders were removed from Northern Ireland in the last three years.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes data on removals and voluntary departures on a quarterly basis and annual basis. Although these figures are not disaggregated by constituent part of the United Kingdom, they do provide the requested data on a national level.
The latest publication provides quarterly data from January 2009 to September 2015 and can be found in the Library of the House and on the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015-data-tables
The next release is scheduled for 25 February 2016 and will include data covering the period from October to December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what submissions she has received from teachers’ representatives on the rollout of the English Baccalaureate in the last year; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
On 3 November 2015 we launched a consultation seeking views on how to ensure that pupils receive a rigorous education in the core academic subjects; an education that includes the English Baccalaureate GCSEs: maths, English, science, a foreign language and history or geography. The consultation closed on 29 January.
Alongside the consultation, we have discussed the English Baccalaureate with more than 50 head teachers from schools or academy trusts in roundtable discussions, individual meetings or phone conversations. We have also met representatives from teaching unions to discuss the EBacc consultation.
We will publish the results of the consultation and the government’s response later in the spring. This will include information about the submissions received from teachers’ representatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed in roles classed as an essential public service who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.
James Brokenshire
The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.
Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.
The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made at the recent UN peace talks in Geneva on Syria.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The latest phase of UN-facilitated peace talks on Syria came to a pause in Geneva on 24 March. UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura intends to reconvene the parties after the Easter break. This latest phase continued in the “proximity talks” format rather than direct talks between the parties. During their discussions with the UN Special Envoy, the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition presented their plans for political transition. Conversely, we understand that the Syrian regime did not engage on issues of substance during their discussions with the UN Special Envoy. At the conclusion of this round of talks, the UN produced a paper outlining its assessment of the “points of convergence” between the opposition and regime and has invited both sides to consider it before talks resume on or around 10 April.