Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils attending state-funded (a) grammar schools and (b) schools that are not grammar schools (i) are eligible for free schools meals and (ii) have special educational needs.

Nick Gibb

The Government does not collect data on pupils who have social educational needs.

The number and proportion of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals are set out below.

	Eligible for and claiming FSM
State-funded grammars	2.5% (4,237 of 166,517 pupils)
Non-selective state-funded secondary schools	13.8% (416,279 of 3,026,901 pupils)

Source: January 2016 school census return. The data includes all pupils on roll, including those over 16.

The consultation document Schools that work for Everyone proposes that we should seek to identify and support those families which are ‘just managing’; those on modest incomes who might not be in receipt of benefits but nevertheless are just about managing. The document also proposes that we should place conditions on new selective schools so that they attract more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and that they should work with non-selective schools to raise standards for all pupils.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2016 to Question 45944, on Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff, how many offers of pro bono support from consultancy firms his Department has (a) been offered and (b) taken up.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the European Union has received a significant number of offers of support from individuals and businesses. To date, the department has utilised the services of seven consultancy firms on a pro bono or nominal (£1) basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the percentage change in (a) trade, (b) foreign direct investment and (c) the level of productivity in the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without securing any preferential trade agreements and reverting to standard World Trade Organisation rules from current trading relationships.

Mr David Gauke

As the Prime Minister has said, we want the best outcome for Britain. That means pursuing a bespoke arrangement which gives British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the single market, and enables us to decide for ourselves how we control immigration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to (a) support the Safe Schools Declaration which arose from the Oslo conference on safe schools in May 2015 and (b) implement the Guidelines on Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, published by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Mr Philip Hammond

The intention of the Safe Schools Declaration is for countries to endorse the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military use during Armed Conflict. While we support the spirit of the initiative, we have concerns that the Guidelines do not mirror the exact language of International Humanitarian Law. We consider that the full implementation of International Humanitarian Law provides the best protection for civilians in all situations of armed conflict. The UK, along with other countries such as Australia, Canada and France, were therefore not able to sign the Safe Schools Declaration in Oslo in May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14485, whether he has made an assessment of whether aerial bombing of Hayden Hospital in Yemen could represent a breach in international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition – including in relation to an alleged airstrike against a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada, which we take very seriously. I regularly review the situation with my own advisers and have discussed it on numerous occasions with my Saudi counterpart. Our judgement is that there is no evidence that IHL has been breached, but we shall continue to review the situation regularly. We have emphasised the importance of full compliance with IHL to the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition. They have assured us of their commitment to comply with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We continue to urge all sides to the conflict to comply with IHL and to investigate incidents of alleged violations fully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received any reports of any potential breaches of international humanitarian law from UK personnel working with the Saudi military.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of reports on alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen by the Saudi Arabians and take these very seriously. The UK is not a partner to the Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in Coalition operations. The Ministry of Defence closely follows alleged IHL violations, using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. We are also offering advice and training to Saudi Arabia to demonstrate investigations best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of the promotion of democracy and human rights through the Arab Partnership Fund in 2014-15.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Arab Partnership was created in 2010 and became a key part of the Government’s response to the Arab Spring. This initiative comprised two parts: the FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund and the DFID-led Arab Partnership Economic Facility. Between 2011 and 2015 the Arab Partnership Participation Fund provided funding totalling £42,803,007 for projects in the region. In financial year 2014/15 the fund provided £10,512,791 of which £8,498,003 was allocated to projects promoting human rights and democracy across the Middle East and North Africa region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK was represented at the recent UN working group meeting on nuclear disarmament in Geneva.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK did not attend the recent organisational meeting for the working group established by UN General Assembly Resolution 70/33 entitled “Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations”. As detailed in PQ 23329, the UK, along with the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States, voted against this resolution. The Government believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS128, on alleged serious and significant offences (diplomatic immunity): 2014, how many instances of alleged criminal conduct by foreign diplomats based in the UK have been brought to the attention of his Department by the police or other enforcement agencies in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Hammond

In the last 12 months Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection of the Metropolitan Police has notified us of a total of 945 incidents where there was a link with a diplomatic mission or international organisation in the United Kingdom. These not only include instances of alleged criminal conduct by persons attached to diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK (including their family members), but also offences allegedly committed against such persons and occasional non-criminal incidents involving such persons or their missions.

This figure also includes occasions when diplomats or family members are required as witnesses. Statistics for only those instances of alleged criminal conduct by foreign diplomats based in the UK are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Future Written Ministerial Statements on the failure of foreign missions to comply with UK law will however, contain details of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by people entitled to diplomatic immunity in the UK in 2015 and 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2015 to Question 1205, how many UK nationals are currently employed by the European Commission; and what proportion of the total number of Commission employees they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond

The latest figures from October 2015 state that there are 1000 British citizens working in the European Commission as Permanent Officials and Temporary Agents, which represents 4.3% of the total. In addition there are 142 employed as Contract Agents.

UK representation was at its peak in the late 70s but since then, it has been falling steadily across all EU institutions as UK officials retire and are not replaced by the same number of new UK entrants. The Government is committed to reversing this picture but recognises this will require sustained efforts over the long-term. The EU Staffing Unit, established in April 2013, works to promote EU careers across the UK and support candidates through the application process. It has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.