Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his policy is on the export of UK arms to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier

The Government’s policy has always been to rigorously assess all licence applications on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Export Licensing Criteria. A licence would not be granted if to do so would be a breach of the Criteria, including if there was a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.

The framework for arms export licensing remains as set out in the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent research her Department has commissioned on the effect of academic selection at age 11 on the educational attainment of children from the poorest backgrounds; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The Department has reviewed a wide range of external research and evidence on the impact of academic selection, including research on the impact of selection on the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

The evidence shows that grammar schools provide a good education for those who attend them. Grammar school pupils outperform those of similar ability in comprehensive schools and they also make more progress than other pupils with similar primary school results. Nearly 78 per cent of high ability pupils achieve the English Baccalaureate at grammar school, compared to just over 52 per cent at comprehensive schools, and the attainment gap for disadvantaged students in grammar schools is practically eliminated

This evidence is based on the existing system of grammar schools. We are proposing significant changes to the requirements placed on selective schools to ensure that they raise standards for all pupils as part of a diverse schools system.

Our proposals will help deliver a school system that works for all children and offers parents genuine choice by increasing the number of good and outstanding school places.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the retail sector on alternatives to non-recyclable coffee cups; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

This Government remains committed to recycling and will be consulting widely on our plans for resources, waste and recycling in developing our 25 Year Environment Plan. I have had a number of discussions with a range of stakeholders in drawing up our plan; as part of these discussions, companies will raise ideas about new products or treatments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) missions flown and (b) air strikes the armed forces have conducted within Iraqi territory in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning

From 1 October 2015 to 25 October 2016 the UK conducted 1,991 combat missions over Iraq. Broken down by month these are:

	Typhoon FGR4	Tornado GR4	Reaper MQ9
2015
October	0	45	61
November	0	52	62
December	47	72	56
2016
January	48	72	74
February	49	73	54
March	55	53	55
April	48	46	56
May	51	52	66
June	50	46	71
July	51	44	66
August	39	46	61
September	33	44	63
October	41	38	51
Total	512	683	796

During 1 October 2015 – 25 October 2016 the UK has conducted a total of 784 airstrikes within Iraqi territory. These are detailed as follows:

2015
October	18
November	57
December	86
2016
January	97
February	60
March	67
April	70
May	69
June	77
July	44
August	42
September	51
October	46
Total	784

These strike numbers are constantly reviewed and updated by the Coalition to ensure records are as complete and as accurate as possible. As such, past and future statements regarding statistics may differ to those given here.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from mental health charities on the adequacy of mental health provision in NHS services; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with various stakeholders, including charities, to discuss how to improve mental health services in the NHS. We will continue to seek opportunities to enhance the charitable sector’s valuable role in providing support to people with mental illness and their carers and families.

The independent Mental Health Taskforce, which is chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind, brings together health and care leaders and experts in the field, including people using services, to lead a programme of work to create a mental health Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of private agency supply teacher services in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

Schools, academiesand local authorities are responsible for recruiting and managing their supply teachers and whether or not they use private supply agencies.Supply agency costs are a private commercial arrangement between schools, or local authorities, and individual supply agencies.

Agency supply teacher spend data at national and local authority level is available in the following publications:

For maintained schools – ‘Expenditure by Local Authorities and Schools on Education, Children and Young People’s Services: 2013-14’ (Table 3), at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-education-and-childrens-services-spending-2013-to-2014.

For academy schools – ‘Income and expenditure in academies in England: 2013 to 2014’ (Raw data SATS table) at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-expenditure-in-academies-in-england-2013-to-2014.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) complaints and (b) investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in her Department there have been in each of the last five years; and how many such (i) complaints and (ii) investigations are outstanding.

Karen Bradley

We have no records of any complaints against or investigations into Home Office Special Advisers in the last five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many counter-terrorism personnel were employed in the West Midlands in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes

For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism budget or staffing by region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from the Libyan Council of Deputies in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We receive regular representations from members of the House of Representatives (also known as Council of Deputies) and other parties in Libya. The UK welcomes the statement of support for a Government of National Accord in Libya signed by the majority of House of Representatives members on November 24, and notes that a majority of General National Congress members in Tripoli also stand firmly in support of a Government of National Accord. Only such a Government can begin the difficult work of establishing effective, legitimate governance, restoring stability, and preserving the unity of the country, as expected by all Libyans. We fully support the UN process led by Special Representative of the Secretary General Martin Kobler as he works to facilitate Libya’s political transition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of its ability to (a) forecast and (b) mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

The Flood Forecasting Centre – jointly operated by the Environment Agency and Met Office – combines world class science, knowledge and experience on meteorology and hydrology to forecast flood risk. The daily assessment of risk enables extra time for emergency responders to prepare.

The Government has recently announced funding for a £97m supercomputer that will cement the UK’s position as a world leader in weather and climate prediction. In addition to this, the Environment Agency operates a flood forecasting and warning service for over 3000 local communities at risk from both rivers and the sea. Advice is provided by phone and text to over 1.1m home and business owners when their property is at risk.

Further investment to improve timely and accurate information to the public is underway. A £6m programme of improvements to weather radar will be completed this year and live data on river levels from across England was made available on the Government’s website earlier this year.

Climate change is factored into all the modelling work that the Environment Agency does, but in light of this extreme weather we must look at that modelling and ensure it is fit for purpose for future decisions.