The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value was of his Department’s naval maintenance contracts by shipyards in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in the last 10 years.
Harriett Baldwin
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the extension of feed-in tariffs to Northern Ireland.
Andrea Leadsom
The focus of the current Feed-in Tariff review is to ensure generators are incentivised appropriately and to seek views on how to control future costs.We do not consider it appropriate at this moment to extend the scope of the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed the planned move to a numeric grading system for GCSEs in England with her Northern Ireland counterpart.
Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education to discuss the grading system for GCSEs in England. Her predecessor discussed reforms to GCSEs in England with John O’Dowd (Minister for Education, Northern Ireland) and Leighton Andrews (Minister for Education and Skills, Wales) in May 2013.
Department for Education officials have regular meetings with officials from the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the regulators Ofqual and Qualifications Wales, to discuss the qualification reforms taking place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding has been received by organisations in Northern Ireland from the Community Covenant Grant Scheme.
Mark Lancaster
All of the applications from Northern Ireland under the first round of the 2015-16 Small Grant Covenant Grant Scheme were successful, amounting to just over £35,000. This is in addition to the £80,000 already awarded under the now closed Community Covenant Grant Scheme.
This funding is in addition to the £35 million of Libor money which the Chancellor agreed to transfer to support the Armed Forces community. The fund has supported 96 charities and good causes in a variety of ways across the UK. We anticipate that the Armed Forces community in Northern Ireland will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have received funding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) special needs students and (b) higher skills learners in horticultural training.
Edward Timpson
We want all young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), whatever their chosen career path, to be well prepared for adult life. As we have made clear in the SEND Code of Practice, the vast majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained employment with the right preparation and support. Study programmes for individual young people with SEND should be tailored to their individual aspirations and abilities.
Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need, and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes eight qualifications in horticulture that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the sector.
However, we want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system. In November 2015, the Government announced reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is owned, understood and valued by employers. This Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to higher level skills. This will make it clearer to young people how they can gain the skills necessary to access different occupations, including horticulture related occupations. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and will report to Government in the spring of 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many compensation claims against prison staff were made by prisoners in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
NOMS defend robustly all claims brought and successfully defend two thirds of claims brought by prisoners. It is not possible accurately to separate prisoner compensation claims against prison staff from other similar claims (e.g. assaults by other prisoners).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £15 million tampon tax fund has been allocated in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The Tampon Tax Fund supports women’s charities that are making a significant impact in the lives of women and girls in the UK, including health, wellbeing and education initiatives, and services for vulnerable women. The bids selected represent a range of different initiatives to benefit women across the whole of the UK.
In total, 25 charities have been allocated funding so far. This includes £5.2 million of funding allocated to Comic Relief and Rosa, to disburse funding over the coming year to a range of grassroots women’s organisations across the UK, in recognition of the high number of applications received.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons people who are from or live in Northern Ireland are required to complete a counter terrorist check as part of an application to join the armed forces.
Mark Lancaster
Every eligible applicant, irrespective of their background, residency or nationality undergoes appropriate security vetting as part of the selection process to join the UK Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of GPs.
David Mowat
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not had any discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of general practitioners (GPs).
Health is a devolved subject; therefore GP recruitment in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to support the development of a sustainable and integrated small-scale renewables sector in Northern Ireland.
Andrea Leadsom
Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland. I support the development of renewables in Northern Ireland but it is for Ministers in Northern Ireland to decide on what support mechanisms they deem appropriate.