Tag: Dan Jarvis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average response time to a 999 call for the emergency services was in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) the Yorkshire and the Humber region and (c) the UK in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Mike Penning

The Home Office does not hold these data centrally. Data on 999 response times for the police may be held by individual police forces.

Similarly, the Home Office does not hold data on response times for other 999 emergency services. NHS England publish monthly performance statistics, which include ambulance response times. These can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/2015/10/08/combined-performance-summary-august-2015/

DCLG publish statistics on fire incident response times, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-incidents-response-times

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to provide better support for ex-servicemen and women and their families.

Mark Lancaster

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2015 to Questions 15830 and 15831.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that all financial investment pledged for equal access to quality education at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference will be backed by the necessary political will and policy changes.

Mr Desmond Swayne

At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region being held in London on 4^th February, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.

At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24539, whether the list provided in that answer includes all of the chief executives of FTSE 100 companies she has held meetings with to discuss the issue of increasing the number of women on company boards since May 2015.

Caroline Dinenage

My answer of 1 February 2015 to Questions 24538 and 24539 detailed all meetings that the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have had with representatives of the FTSE 100 and other businesses. We have also spoken at a number of conferences and events, with representatives from across the FTSE 350 and other businesses in attendance. We always ensure that we use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK is intending to take steps to ensure that effective benchmarks for extractive-sector governance are included on the agenda for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016 will consider progress against the Self Reliance through the Mutual Accountability Framework agreed between the National Unity Government and the international community in September 2015. This Framework includes an objective to improve the investment climate and a commitment on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Responsible development of the extractives sector is a UK priority. We are supporting the Government to strengthen legal frameworks, contract management and fiscal regimes, and to implement the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28993, whether he plans to give Ministerial approval to relax the restrictions of the public sector exit cap on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Greg Hands

The power to relax restrictions on exit payments imposed by the cap will enable decisions to be taken on individual or collective cases where there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the cap being relaxed. This would be subject to scrutiny and approval by the relevant Minister in accordance with directions issued by the Treasury. The relevant Minister for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority would be the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

The Government can confirm that the regulations detailing the relaxation provisions will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not receive any funding from the European Social Fund in either period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what defence technology research and development programmes the Government is cooperating with other EU member states.

Mr Julian Brazier

As stated in National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161), as part of being international by design, we will participate in future international collaborative programmes in both the defence and security sectors where we have the right technology, skills and industrial capabilities, and where we can reduce our costs and share technology to mutual benefit, strengthening our defence relationships.

We will work closely with, learn from and invest in joint research programmes with our allies and partners, many of whom are pursuing similar innovation initiatives. France has important technology programmes, especially in aerospace, maritime and space capabilities. We will also build on our important security relationships with partners, and with multilateral forums, including NATO.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army excluding Gurkhas and (c) Royal Air Force personnel are from an ethnic minority background.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence is committed to achieving a more diverse workforce and is developing plans to meet the Government’s commitment to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces to 10% by 2020 and have allocated resources for this purpose.

Planning is ongoing to ensure that new activity is evidence-based and resources are allocated in the best way to deliver the step change that is required.

Whilst this plan is being finalised, examples of steps already taken include increased engagement with ethnic minority communities, using communications to improve understanding on careers in the Armed Forces and offering support throughout the application process where it is needed.

The Armed Forces recently won two awards in October 2015 at the Race for Opportunity Awards. The Armed Forces Muslim Association won the Public Sector Employee Network Award and the Royal Air Force won the Future Workforce Award for their Employability Skills Programme. The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force have also been recognised as two of the Top 10 public sector organisations for race diversity and inclusion by Race for Opportunity.

Statistics on the diversity declaration and representation of minority groups of
Service Personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence are published biannually. The most recent data can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the UK’s influence in the world of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Government believes that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. That way, the UK can play a leading role in one of the world’s largest organisations. Membership of the EU, like our membership of NATO and the UN, amplifies, not diminishes, the UK’s influence in the world.