Tag: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles have been used in criminal offences in each of the last 10 years in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Mike Penning

I can confirm that the information requested on the number of .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles held by certificate holders in England and Wales is available. However, as it takes time to extract this information from our systems, I will write separately with our response and place a copy of the reply in the House Library.

The licensing of firearms in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland and the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. Information in respect of firearms in those jurisdictions is not held centrally by the Home Office.

I am unable to provide the information requested on the number of legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles used in criminal offences as it is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles have been used in terrorist offences in the last 10 years.

Mike Penning

The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of legal and illegal firearms in criminal use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of benchmarking UKTI’s performance against that of other countries’ export agencies.

Anna Soubry

There is considerable merit in understanding how our competitors’ export agencies are structured and the services they offer. This is something the Exports Implementation Taskforce, which the Secretary of State chairs, looked at in some depth in developing a whole-of-Government approach to exports. This included, UK Trade & Investment participating in a formal benchmarking exercise by the International Trade Centre.

Among the key things found from these comparative reviews is that UKTI employs more people than other countries’ export promotion agencies, but deploys less resource on practical support for exporters (such as interim export managers). Learning from this, UKTI is currently developing some small-scale direct practical support services and products to see what might work in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of co-ordinating the objectives of Innovate UK and UKTI in order to increase exports.

Anna Soubry

Increasing exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Innovate UK work together to co-ordinate activity to promote UK innovation and to help drive the UK’s productivity, exports and long-term growth through increasing trade and inward investment in science and innovation. An Innovate UK secondee further augments the activities of both organisations.

This work supports UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas. This includes working together on events and entrepreneur missions to promote the UK’s innovative companies on a global scale, identifying export opportunities and securing new markets. Innovate UK funded projects and companies are referred to UKTI trade advisers to help support international planning and exports. To date 250 companies have been referred.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason trade statistics are collected on a different basis by HM Revenue and Customs and the Office for National Statistics; and what plans the Government has to align the collection of such data.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is required to collect trade in goods statistics by EU legislation. This legislation sets out the detail and frequency of the data to be collected and provided to the EU Commission.

Council Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 and Commission Regulations (EU) No 92/2010 and No 113/2010 set out the requirement for HMRC to collect trade in goods statistics between the UK and non-EU countries. Council Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004 sets out the requirement to collect the corresponding statistics between the UK and other EU Member States.

HMRC provides trade in goods data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As required by the sixth edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6) and the European System of Natural and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010), National Accounts and Balance of Payments also include trade in services. The ONS collects this data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to commence the provisions of Schedule 23 of the Deregulation Act 2015 on the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973.

George Eustice

My Department has no plans to commence paragraphs 35 and 36 of Schedule 23 of the Deregulation Act 2015, relating to the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973. While the option to do so remains, we believe that for the foreseeable future these records do have a role in assisting Local Authorities investigating welfare concerns at dog breeding establishments. This will mean that licensed dog breeders will therefore be required to continue keeping records in a prescribed form.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the new national curriculum can be taught in primary schools to mixed-age classes.

Nick Gibb

Schools can choose to teach pupils of different year groups together.

Maintained schools are required to cover the whole of the programme of study for each national curriculum subject by the time pupils reach the end of the key stage period. In planning how best to teach the curriculum, schools should consider all relevant circumstances, including the needs of their pupils, and make decisions accordingly.

The programmes of study for primary English, mathematics and science are set out on a year-by-year basis to provide a guide as to the pace that the material should be taught in these key subjects.

The national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge that must be taught, allowing teachers to take greater control over the wider curriculum in schools and how it is taught. Teachers are free to use their professional judgement and take account of local circumstances in deciding how best to organise their classes, including whether it would be suitable to teach mixed age pupils together. The Department has no involvement in these decisions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average cost to the public purse was of processing a UK visitor visa through centres in China in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire

These costs are not broken down to show costs by location.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK visitor visas were issued in China in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015.

James Brokenshire

The available information relates to Chinese nationals and is provided in the table below.

UK Entry clearance visitor visas granted: Chinese nationals
(including dependants)

2012: 210,344
2013: 291,826
2014: 327,349
2015: 397,764

Notes

The figures above represent entry clearance visitor visas issued worldwide to Chinese nationals, not visas issued in China.

Source: Table vi_06_q_o, Immigration Statistics, October to December 2015

The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visitor visas granted are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, October-December 2015’, Visas volume 3 table vi_06_q_o available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015/list-of-tables#visas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what UK Trade and Investment’s annual budget is for work in Europe.

Anna Soubry

It is not possible fully to disaggregate UK Trade and Investment’s budget for all its work in each overseas market. The overall budget will be made up of costs incurred in country and funds that are not market specific.