Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the powers of local authority pensions schemes to indirectly invest in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions.

Mr Marcus Jones

Investment decisions in the local government pension scheme are the responsibility of the 90 designated administering authorities in England and Wales and must be taken on the basis of expert advice and in compliance with the Scheme’s regulatory framework. Since 2000, pension fund authorities have been required to publish a statement of investment principles, including their policy on the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are to be taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. The regulations also require that each statement is published locally.

We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation programme; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We continue to work closely with local authorities to manage the arrival of the Syrian refugees in to the resettlement places they have pledged. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Latest statistics published on 25 August confirmed that a total of a total of 2,898 Syrians have been resettled under the scheme since it began, 2,646 of these arriving since 1 October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will estimate the total amount his Department has spent to date.

Greg Hands

The newly created Department for International Trade (DIT) has been forged out of the forerunner (non-ministerial) Departments UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export Finance (UKEF) and has assumed Trade Policy Unit responsibilities previously held by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings he has had with officials from the World Trade Organisation since the creation of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

In addition to speaking on the phone and an exchange of letters, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy have each had one face-to-face meeting with the Director General of the WTO since the creation of the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on the Government maintaining its EU climate obligations after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK remains firmly committed to tackling global climate change. This commitment is enshrined in our domestic legislation via the Climate Change Act 2008. In line with this, we recently set the UK’s fifth domestic carbon budget in law. The UK remains a member of the European Union and existing rules apply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has begun the formal negotiation process for any new trade deals; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for International Trade (Greg Hands), gave on 21 October to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), UIN 49161.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of military operations across Iraq in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The net additional cost of Operation SHADER, the name for countering ISIL activity in Iraq and Syria, from the start of operations in August 2014 to the end of the financial year in March 2015 was around £80 million (£35 million of which was allocated for the replenishment cost of munitions to be purchased in 2015-16). For the current financial year, running from April 2015 to March 2016, at Main Estimates the MOD has initially requested a further £45 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14021, how many new teachers were trained in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The latest historical information on recruitment of new initial teacher trainees can be found in the ITT Census online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts from Arab League states on the threat posed by ISIS; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has regular discussions with Arab League states, most of which are members of the Global Coalition to counter ISIL. It is crucial we work together to defeat ISIL. Ensuring peace and stability in the region is an important part of the UK’s counter ISIL strategy.

ISIL has been on the agenda during all recent discussions with Arab League states. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron) and President Sisi spoke about a range of foreign policy issues, including ISIL, during his visit to London earlier this month. The Prime Minister also met His Majesty King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the margins of the G20. In October and November, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) had extensive discussions about ISIL when he visited Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and engaged with regional countries during the talks on Syria held in Vienna on 14 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS treatment measures to deal with antibiotic resistant infections; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Patient safety is of primary importance to the National Health Service. An integral part of this focus on safety is work to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are currently effective against resistant infections.

There is mandatory surveillance of resistant infections such as meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile and E.coli within the NHS and data are published by Public Health England on a monthly basis. This transparency of data has ensured that NHS organisations are focused on minimising the number of resistant infections, and identifying and dealing with patients suffering from such resistant infections appropriately.

The NHS has also implemented a Public Health England screening protocol to identify people suffering from carbapenem resistant infections so that adequate treatment measures can be implemented in a timely way. Carbapenems are a powerful group of broad spectrum (penicillin-related) antibiotics.

The NHS vaccination programmes have also proved effective at tackling resistance through reducing the incidence of certain diseases. NHS England will continue to work with Public Health England to implement the national vaccination programmes successfully.

In addition, to these existing measures, we are introducing a set of indicators which specifically focusses on resistant infections. These indicators will enable NHS organisations to identify their priorities concerning resistance and take appropriate local action. To support this we will highlight to NHS organisations key actions they can take. These include best practice on controlling levels of resistance and reducing levels of antimicrobial prescribing, and guidance on general infection prevention and control standards.