Tag: David Mackintosh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to (a) invest in research on rehabilitation, health and social care models to improve the quality of life for ill Gulf War veterans and (b) communicate the results of US research on those issues to Gulf War veterans living in the UK.

Mark Lancaster

The Government greatly values the service of all 1990-91 Gulf War veterans, particularly as we reach the 25^th anniversary of the start of combat operations. We have long accepted that the ill health of some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War is associated with their service in the Gulf. In such cases compensation may be claimed under the War Pensions Scheme with appropriate medical care provided by the National Health Service across the UK .

The Department has funded extensive research into Gulf War illness including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms.

Our strategy on research topics and studies has been informed and overseen by independent scientific experts nominated by the Medical Research Council taking account of published peer-reviewed international literature and international studies. We have no plans to undertake further research on Gulf War issues. We continue to monitor any Gulf War research that is published round the world including from the United States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) recent steps he has taken and (b) mechanisms he has introduced to increase the efficiency of work between government departments.

Matthew Hancock

Improving efficiency, both across Government and between government departments, is central to the work of the Cabinet Office. By 2014/15 the Government had saved £18.6 billion through efficiency and reform, and tackling fraud, error and uncollected debt (against a 2009/10 baseline). This includes saving:

• £6.1bn by improving how government buys goods, and services.

• Generating £1.8bn net capital receipts and saving £750 million from reducing the annual running cost of the estate.

• £4.6bn by addressing waste and inefficiency in construction and reducing costs in major projects.

• £700m through reducing losses from fraud and error.

In autumn 2015 the Spending Review announced a range of additional measures to further improve effect and joint working between departments. These include co-locating Civil Servants though the Government Hubs programme, and introducing shared ICT though Common Technology Services and the Common Platforms Programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that employers accord degree apprenticeships the same esteem as traditional university degrees.

Nick Boles

The Government wants young people to have the opportunity to access high quality degree level training, whether through a full-time undergraduate route or a world-class degree apprenticeship.

Both traditional degrees and new degree apprenticeships meet the high quality criteria expected of a higher education qualification. Degree Apprenticeships are designed by groups of employers working with higher education institutions, and provide a valuable route for people to obtain a degree-level qualification alongside training for a career, with the prospect of a job from day one

Degree apprenticeships will feature in the new communications campaign being launched in May, promoting the benefits of apprenticeships to employers and young people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage car manufacturers to adopt green and hybrid technologies.

Andrew Jones

The UK offers one of the most comprehensive packages of support for ultra low emission vehicles in the world. This includes the plug-in car and van grants, support for infrastructure, investment in R&D, and the ground breaking government-industry communications campaign, ‘Go Ultra Low’.

The government recently committed over £600m over the course of this parliament to support the take up and manufacture of ultra low emission vehicles, and has set itself the ambitious goal that by 2050 nearly all cars and vans should be zero emission.

We are also active in the EU in pushing for ambitious regulation of the CO₂ emissions of new cars, which will encourage the increasing deployment of new greener technologies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage small businesses to apply for government contracts.

Matthew Hancock

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud on 27 April UIN: 904721.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to encourage students at Key Stage 3 to take up modern foreign languages.

Nick Gibb

The Government expects all pupils in secondary education to be taught a broad and balanced curriculum, and that includes the opportunity to study a foreign language at Key Stage 3 and 4. In 2010, only 43% of pupils were studying a GCSE in a foreign language, down from 76% in 2000. Since the Government introduced the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), the proportion of the cohort in state schools that are entered for a modern foreign language GCSE increased by 20% between 2011 and 2015. Our ambition is that 90 per cent of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects, including a foreign language.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the start of combat operations in the First Gulf War.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to honour the contribution of all those who served in the First Gulf War. The MOD will formally commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the end of combat operations (Operation GRANBY), with a service of commemoration in St Paul’s Cathedral, where the Gulf War Memorial is situated, on Friday 26 February 2016.

In addition, separate formations in Defence are also planning to mark the anniversary. These include a commemorative service held by the Grenadier Guards at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks; a series of commemorative events hosted by the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, a gathering of veterans hosted by the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars Association, and attendance at and support to an event organised at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) on 28 February to dedicate a new memorial to the conflict. The Royal Air Force will conduct an over-flight of the NMA event using a Tornado aircraft.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what statistics his Department holds on the nationality of people who are sleeping rough.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department does not require local authorities to submit data on the nationality of rough sleepers. However information on the nationality of rough sleepers in London, collected by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network, is shown in the Department’s annual rough sleeping statistical release which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503015/Rough_Sleeping_Autumn_2015_statistical_release.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that users of the rail network are aware of the compensation schemes available to them when their trains are delayed or cancelled.

Claire Perry

I welcome the publication of the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) recommendations in March this year following Which?’s super-complaint into passenger compensation. It is vital that customers who suffer delays or cancellations understand their rights to compensation and have access to it in a timely way. Industry must now do much more to make the process quick and user-friendly. We are already working with the Association of Train Operating Companies and the ORR to bring about improvements, and my Department will respond to the ORR’s report in the summer of 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what resources her Department allocated to local authorities and the emergency services in Northamptonshire to develop their capacity to deal with flash floods in each of the last three years.

Rory Stewart

The Government provides funding to Lead Local Flood Authorities to carry out their duties in relation to managing and co-ordinating local flood risk under the Flood and Water Management Act. Local flood risk includes surface water run off. However, local authorities decide what to spend according to local priorities.

For the past three years this funding has been provided through two mechanisms i.e. direct grant from Defra via the Local Services Support Grant and from the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The total funding provided to Northamptonshire County Council in the last three years for their role as a Lead Local Flood Authority was:

• 2013/14 £290,000
• 2014/15 £288,000
• 2015/16 £241,000

Of this, the funding provided directly by Defra was:

• 2013/14 £140,000
• 2014/15 £140,000
• 2015/16 £93,000

This Department does not fund the work of the emergency services.