Tag: Gareth Thomas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to support the International Trade Centre’s She Trades initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Desmond Swayne

DFID is a strong supporter of women’s economic empowerment. The Secretary of State is on the UN High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, which will accelerate global action on this agenda. The SheTrades Initiative is a consequence of DFID’s funding for the International Trade Centre’s women and trade programme, which helps women entrepreneurs from developing countries to trade and access markets. To date this programme has directly supported 2,600 women entrepreneurs, and indirectly contributed to 12,000 women benefiting from market access opportunities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to introduce restrictions on the posts that EU nationals are able to (a) work in and (b) apply for within the Civil Service; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

All Civil Service bodies are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules that are currently in effect.

We have no current plans to amend the rules, but will keep the matter under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the possible expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes

There have been no discussions with local authorities on the possible expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if Ministers of his Department will meet with the European Investment Bank to discuss access to loan finance for local authorities after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Consideration of local authorities’ financial relationship with the European Investment Bank will form part of our approach to exiting the EU. As this government has already stated, we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to promote steps to tackle HIV/Aids; and if she will make a statement.

Grant Shapps

The UK remains firmly committed to the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in New York in September, including the target to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. We are already working towards this goal not only through our substantial support to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, but also through our work with UNITAID and the Clinton Health Access Initiative to make testing and treatment more accessible and affordable.

We will continue to concentrate on the critical gaps in reducing new infections, particularly among women and girls and key affected populations while continuing to address the barriers that limit access to treatment. These include strengthening health systems and tackling the broader structural drivers of the HIV epidemic such as stigma and discrimination, and gender inequality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost of regional school commissioners in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

At present, I am unable to provide detailed information on the budget for the Regional Schools Commissioners for each of the next three years.

The Department’s spending review settlement was agreed in November. The Department has now begun a business planning process to devolve this budget internally to specific activities and functions. This work is intended to finish in early 2016, when the future budgets for all the Regional School Commissioners’ offices, including the South-Central and North-West London office, will be agreed for the next financial year (2016-17) and beyond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson

Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely capture management information on the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total NHS spend on contracted work by (a) McKinsey, (b) PA Consulting, (c) Deloitte LLP and (d) GE Healthcare Finnamore was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The below table outlines the total spend on the listed consultancies in the past three years. Between them, these consultancies provide a variety of services including developing policies, supporting service reviews and supporting New Models of Care programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a system to permit supplementary schools and mainstream schools to bid for funding to support the professional development of staff teaching English to GCSE and A-level standard; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.