Tag: Dan Jarvis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements are in place to fund the expansion of the Combined Cadet Force; and what the estimated total cost of that expansion is.

Mr Philip Dunne

Expansion of the Combined Cadet Force is under way through the joint Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme which was launched in 2012. The programme is on target to provide 100 new cadet units in state schools in England by September 2015.

The programme had an initial budget of £10.85 million to meet start-up costs for the first 100 units. Fixed and running costs of these units are being absorbed through efficiencies found from existing MOD budgets.

The expansion programme is also supported by the Cadet Bursary Fund, a charitable fund launched by the Prime Minister in June 2014. This fund, which provides grants to help schools alleviate financial barriers to establishing new units, particularly additional staff costs, was supported with £1 million from LIBOR fines.

The total cost of the expansion will depend on the number of cadets in each unit, and the eventual number of new units. It is too early to say how many cadets there will be in the first 100 new units and plans and funding for any expansion beyond September 2015 will be a matter for the Government returned after the election, and for the 2015 Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is offering to Nigeria to help combat Boko Haram.

Mr Mark Francois

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2015 to Parliamentary Question 906917, to the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure members of the armed forces helping with the Ebola outbreak have adequate protection against the disease.

Mr Mark Francois

We take the protection of military personnel exceptionally seriously: it is our highest priority.

The key element of this protection is the training and briefing which is conducted prior to deployment, and which is tailored to their role in Sierra Leone, including the use/operation of the personal protective equipment issued. This training is supplemented on arrival in Sierra Leone and updated thereafter in line with the prevailing situation.

All personnel returning from Sierra Leone will be screened for Ebola in line with current guidance from Public Health England. This is part of a much wider monitoring and screening process, which will run throughout an individual’s deployment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216388, if he will provide funding for Normandy Veterans to return to sites of Remembrance they choose rather than to sites chosen by the Royal British Legion as part of the D-Day Return scheme.

Anna Soubry

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not fund visits by veterans to return to sites of Remembrance. The long standing MOD policy on official commemorations is that only certain specific anniversaries of events of major importance receive MOD sponsorship at public expense.

Funding is still available from the Big Lottery fund, Heroes Return 2 scheme, as long as veterans travel before 31 December 2015 and haven’t benefited from this scheme since 1 January 2013. This scheme allows veterans to return to the theatre in which they saw action, so travel is not limited to Normandy.

In addition, and as advised by my hon. Friend the Treasury Minister (David Gauke) in his response to Question 216388, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has been chosen to run the D-Day return scheme on the Government’s behalf. As detailed on the RBL website, the D-Day return scheme will not fund independent travel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216388, if he will permit Normandy Veterans to apply for funding for independent travel to Normandy as part of the D-Day Return scheme.

Anna Soubry

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not fund visits by veterans to return to sites of Remembrance. The long standing MOD policy on official commemorations is that only certain specific anniversaries of events of major importance receive MOD sponsorship at public expense.

Funding is still available from the Big Lottery fund, Heroes Return 2 scheme, as long as veterans travel before 31 December 2015 and haven’t benefited from this scheme since 1 January 2013. This scheme allows veterans to return to the theatre in which they saw action, so travel is not limited to Normandy.

In addition, and as advised by my hon. Friend the Treasury Minister (David Gauke) in his response to Question 216388, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has been chosen to run the D-Day return scheme on the Government’s behalf. As detailed on the RBL website, the D-Day return scheme will not fund independent travel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to support forces opposed to Islamic State.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of a small number of British citizens fighting against ISIL in Syria and Iraq, but are not able to estimate accurately the total number. The UK advises against all travel to Syria and against travel to much of Iraq. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger. The Syrian National Coalition, which we recognise as the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, have made clear that they do not want foreign fighters to come to their country. The best way for the British public to help the people of Syria and Iraq is to support UK registered charities that are providing humanitarian relief to those affected by the conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which are supported by the Scotch whisky industry in (a) Barnsley and (b) each nation and region of the UK.

Priti Patel

A report produced by the Scotch Whiskey Association in January 2015 outlines that the industry contributes £5bn to total UK GDP and directly and indirectly supports 43,000 jobs in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total annual economic contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the economy.

Priti Patel

A report produced by the Scotch Whiskey Association in January 2015 outlines that the industry contributes £5bn to total UK GDP and directly and indirectly supports 43,000 jobs in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites for giving evidence in court are open in each region of England and Wales.

Mr Shailesh Vara

We must do everything we can to support vulnerable witnesses and help them give their best possible evidence to bring offenders to justice. That’s why we are trialling pre recorded cross-examination to allow young and vulnerable witnesses to give evidence away from what can be an aggressive court room atmosphere. This is on top of a range of measures to help reduce the anxiety of attending court, including giving evidence behind a screen. We will continue to explore ways we can use remote links and new technology to help witnesses give evidence from outside the court building.

The list below sets out the number of courthouses in each of the seven HMCTS Regions in England & Wales. These facilities enable any victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court; it is also possible for third party users to access the court system through a secure bridge.

HMCTS Region	Number of courthouses enabled for remote video link.
Wales	22
London	32
South East	52
South West	35
Midlands	40
North West	31
North East	37
Total	249

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average number of hours children spent exercising in schools each week in (a) the UK and (b) each region of the UK in each year since May 2010.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Department for Education does not hold information on the average number of hours children have spent exercising in schools each week since May 2010.

Following the recent review of the national curriculum, PE continues to be compulsory at all 4 key stages.

Through the primary PE and sport premium we are also providing over £450 million of ring-fenced funding across three academic years until 2016. The funding goes directly to primary schools, to be spent on the improvement of PE and sport, so that all pupils develop a healthy lifestyle. We published a research brief into the use of the primary PE and sport premium in September 2014. Our findings show that the mean amount of time spent on curricular PE in primary schools has increased by 13 minutes from 109 to 122 minutes a week from 2012/13 to 2013/14. 84 per cent of schools reported an increase in pupil engagement with PE during school time and 83 per cent saw an increase in participation in after school clubs.

Our research was based on a survey of 586 primary schools between April and July 2014. Our full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-an-investigation-in-primary-schools

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