The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Bellingham on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Iraq Historical Allegations Team have spent on the contract with Red Snapper Recruitment to date.
Mike Penning
As of 24 October 2016, the total amount paid to the Red Snapper Group for the contract with the Iraq Historic Allegations Team was £20.8 million including VAT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will add pulmonary arterial hypertension to the conditions which are exempt from prescription charges.
Alistair Burt
There are no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide exemption from prescription charges.
Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, including those based on low income, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. For those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work the Digital Accessibility Alliance has completed or published since it was formed.
Mr Edward Vaizey
This Government recognises the importance of Digital Inclusion, and remains committed to seeing an improvement in the provision of digital information services for disabled people. Annual correspondence with the FTSE 100 companies has indicated that from 2013 to present there has been a steady increase in the number of companies that provide video relay. We welcome this positive progress, and public facing Government departments will continue to work with interested parties to ensure this continues.
We have also been monitoring progress of the provision of access services for Video on Demand (VoD) content since 2013 through engagement with the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), platform operators content providers and broadcasters.
The Alliance for Digital Accessibility (formerly the Digital Accessibility Alliance), which has met twice since its formation, has created the environment for members to engage and discuss Accessibility issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many museums have closed since 7 May 2015.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Neither DCMS nor Arts Council England holds information on museums closures. However, there are just under 1800 accredited museums.
Thanks to an excellent Spending Review settlement in November 2015, the Government is honouring its manifesto commitment to keep entry to the permanent collections of our national museums free.
Through the Arts Council England, DCMS is increasing funding for 21 Major Partner Museums from £20.3m to £22.6 million. In addition to this, regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund. They can also bid for lottery funding from the HLF. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums, for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how the proposed cost savings outlined in the BIS 2020 programme have been calculated; and what estimate he has made of projected savings of relocating staff from the office in Sheffield to London.
Joseph Johnson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has committed to delivering 30-40% reductions in the Department’s operating expenditure which equates to around £350m by 2020. Savings of this magnitude can only be delivered by changing the Department’s overall business model so that it is simpler, cheaper and better for users of BIS services. This involves reducing the number of offices, our number of partner bodies, and our headcount as well as rationalising customer support, grant giving and digital service delivery. The proposed move of policy teams into a single centre and proposed closure of the Sheffield office forms part of a larger programme to change our business model.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent military attacks by ISIS on the Nineveh Plain Forces (NPF) at Telliskuf; what political and military assistance they are giving to the NPF; and what assessment they have made of the NPF’s objectives.
Earl Howe
Following Daesh’s attack north of Mosul on 3 May, they were pushed back by Kurdish forces. The Kurds regained the lost territory with substantial Coalition air support, which included the use of RAF aircraft. UK assistance in Iraq is channelled, as appropriate, through the Government of Iraq or the Kurdish Regional Government rather than to any individual militia forces, and the UK has made no specific assessment of the objectives of the Nineveh Plain Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce measurable targets on reducing the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy was published in March and set out the Department’s targets for cycling. This included an objective to reduce the rate of cyclists killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, measured as the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles cycled, each year.
We are in the process of analysing feedback received during the consultation and expect to publish the final Strategy this summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Olympic Games in Rio, and the potential adverse impact on funding for elite athletes of Brexit, what steps they will take to ensure proper funding for such athletes to support their successful participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The London 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success with sold-out venues and the best British performance for over 100 years in winning 65 medals. The Games left a legacy of increased participation and world-class sporting venues which are now being used by our elite athletes as well as local communities.
The commitment from the Government immediately following the London 2012 Olympic Games to confirm and sustain Exchequer support for the UK Sport World Class Programme was a significant moment in underpinning the success of Rio, providing UK Sport, and the National Governing Bodies of sport, with the necessary financial support to invest in medal success across the Olympic and Paralympic sports.
I am confident that this success will continue at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond. Since 2012, UK Sport funded athletes have given back over 18,000 days visiting schools and local projects as part of our commitment to inspire the next generation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding from the public purse the UK will contribute to the Better Migration Management programme.
Rory Stewart
The €46 million ‘Better Migration Management’ programme is part of the EU’s joint work on addressing unmanaged flows from Africa under the Horn of Africa component of the €1.9 billion EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The UK has made no direct financial contribution to this programme. However, we have committed to a contribution of €3 million to the Horn of Africa component of the Trust Fund overall. That is in addition to the UK’s underlying contribution to the Trust Fund, which amounts to approximately 15% of the EU’s total €1.8 billion contribution, predominantly drawn from the European Development Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make representations to the French government to ensure that the removal of 2,000 refugees from the Calais refugee camp into government-built shelters is co-ordinated with NGOs and volunteers; and that those refugees are (a) well-informed, (b) safely moved, (c) able to retain their possessions and (d) have their human rights respected.
James Brokenshire
The UK Government recognises the exceptional pressures on the French Government and its citizens caused by the migrant situation in the Calais region. Both Governments are clear that the right course of action is, as far as possible, to move migrants away from Calais and for genuine refugees, to be offered protection within the French asylum system. This is why the UK has committed to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help provide support and facilities elsewhere in France.
The UK is in regular contact with France on all matters related to Calais and the migrant situation. However, operational decisions relating to the management of the camps are the responsibility of the French Government.