Tag: Alistair Burt

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on implementing 30 hours’ free childcare for working parents.

Caroline Dinenage

We pledged to introduce the manifesto commitment to give working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds 30 hours of free childcare from September 2017, and we have already made excellent progress in meeting this deadline.

We have already put in place legislation to support 30 hours through the Childcare Act 2016, announced increased funding of £1billion extra per year by 2019/20 to support the introduction of 30 hours and launched a consultation on how we can allocate funding in a fairer way. We have also: identified £50million of capital funding to create new childcare places; consulted on the operational delivery of 30 hours; and have worked to provide parents applying for 30 hours and Tax-Free Childcare with a single online application process for both government offers.

We have brought forward the implementation of the additional 15 hours to September 2016 for some families in eight areas. These areas will test how we can implement 30 hours in a way that works for children, parents and childcare providers.

Since the beginning of this month, working parents in York, Northumberland, Newham, Wigan, Staffordshire, Swindon, Portsmouth and Hertfordshire have been enjoying the benefits of 30 hours of free childcare.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that 16 to 18 year-olds take up apprenticeships.

Robert Halfon

Apprenticeships are paid jobs that give young people the chance to reach their potential; acquire transferable skills much valued in the labour market and the apprentice does not have to contribute to the costs of their learning.

We are encouraging a wide range of people into apprenticeships – our ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign is aimed at 14-24 year-olds, their parents, teachers and employers. This major four-year campaign aims to influence public perceptions, awareness and attitudes towards apprenticeships as a route into a successful career, encouraging more young people to apply and more employers to offer apprenticeship opportunities.

From May 2017, we have proposed giving employers and providers a cash payment each of £1,000 when they train a 16-18 year old, and we will fund 100 per cent of apprenticeship training costs for small employers with fewer than 50 staff when they employ 16-18 year old apprentices.

The National Careers Service provides independent, professional advice on careers, skills and the labour market, including on the benefits of apprenticeships and how to apply for vacancies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many households have taken up the Government’s subsidised broadband connection offer in North East Bedfordshire.

Matt Hancock

11,257.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what BT’s commercial investment was in broadband rollout in North East Bedfordshire.

Matt Hancock

The Department does not hold information on BT’s commercial investment in broadband roll-out.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce details of the discretionary support scheme for people affected by contaminated blood.

Nicola Blackwood

As part of the wider reforms of the Infected Blood Payment support schemes in England, a new discretionary scheme is in design and will be delivered once a new scheme administrator is established in 2017/18. Details of the discretionary support scheme will be provided at that stage. A new discretionary scheme will replace the existing three discretionary schemes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcomes were of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Mark Simmonds

The Global Summit had two primary objectives: to agree practical action to tackle impunity for the use of rape as a weapon of war, and to begin to change global attitudes to these crimes. The Summit set in motion a series of unprecedented practical steps and commitments. In addition, it significantly raised the profile of this issue and placed it firmly on the international policy agenda.

During the Summit we launched the first ever International Protocol on how to document and investigate sexual violence in conflict as a means of overcoming one of the key barriers to prosecutions of these crimes and announced an ambitious plan to implement the Protocol. The Foreign Secretary announced £6 million in new UK funding to support survivors of rape, and the United States, Bahrain, Australia, Japan and others including European partners also made new pledges. The African Union announced a pilot project in the Central African Republic to respond to the urgent needs of victims of sexual violence, supported by the UK and Japan. In addition the Somali government launched a new action plan, supported by the UN and the international community, for addressing sexual violence, which has blighted the lives of thousands there.

Within the Summit we convened a special meeting on security in Nigeria, where violence against women and girls is a particular concern among the wider impact of Boko Haram. We agreed that a Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit should be made operational immediately. The countries of the region also agreed rapidly to implement joint or coordinated patrols along their borders and Cameroon committed to add a battalion to that regional task force. The UK, US and France pledged to support of these regional efforts. We announced a separate package of support for Nigeria including: increased tactical training for the Nigerian army, assistance to regional security and intelligence cooperation, and a joint UK/US educational programme to educate an additional one million children in Nigeria. All the parties present also agreed on the need for UN sanctions against Boko Haram’s leadership and Ansaru, another dangerous terrorist organisation. Both were listed by the UN Security Council’s Al Qaida Sanctions Committee on 26 June.

Finally, states and delegates at the Summit joined together to sign a Statement of Action, uniting governments, UN Agencies, civil society, experts and survivors with a shared determination to tackle these issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of public footfall at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Mark Simmonds

One of the principal aims of the Global Summit was to invite members of the public to take part in the Summit and to transform awareness of a taboo and often poorly understood subject. We estimate that several thousand members of the public attended the Fringe events each day.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many fringe events were held during the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds

I refer my honourable Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire to the Foreign Secretary’s statement to the House on 16 June 2014 on the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. There were 175 fringe events during the Summit, which included panel discussions and debates, theatre and performance, marketplace with products made by survivors, gallery, silent cinema, exhibitions. We estimate that several thousand members of the public attended the fringe each day. In addition, our Embassies and High Commissions overseas held a global fringe and hosted events for each of the 84 hours of the Summit. These events challenged perceptions and encouraged policy and decision makers and the general public to engage with a subject that for too long has remained hidden.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) Government Ministers, (b) non-governmental organisations and civil society groups and (c) survivors attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds

I refer my honourable Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary to this House on 16 June 2014 on the outcomes of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. 79 Ministers and 129 country delegations were accredited for Summit, plus 950 experts from civil society, non-governmental organisations, academia, health practitioners, military and policy. Many more members of the public attended the Fringe. The FCO supported participation of the 300 grass roots and civil society activists from conflict affected countries, many of whom had direct experience of sexual violence in conflict. Other organisations who attended also had survivors as part of their delegations. Together we discussed practical action to tackle impunity for the use of sexual violence as a tactic of conflict and continued the long process of changing global attitudes to these crimes.