Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has conducted of the adequacy of the level of financial support offered to small businesses that have been in operation for two years or less; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The Government recognises that new businesses can encounter difficulties in obtaining the finance they need to start-up or grow. However I am encouraged that net lending to smaller businesses has been recovering strongly since the end of 2014. The Bank of England has reported that credit conditions for SMEs seeking finance are improving and the SME Finance Monitor shows that 80% of SME loan and overdraft applications were successful in the 18 months to 2015 Q3, up from 68% in Q4 2013.

Latest figures show that net SME lending from banks participating in the Funding for Lending Scheme grew by £675m in the third quarter and the Bank of England recently announced that allowances earned by banks for increasing their net lending under the scheme will be available to draw down for a further two years. The government also continues to fund start-up loans, with more than 33,000 loans worth over £180 million issued so far and a target to deliver 75,000 loans by the end of the parliament.

I am also encouraged by our growing alternative finance sector, with the UK the leading fin tech centre of Europe.

A recent report from the Legatum Institute rated the UK as the best country in the EU in which to start a business and the government will continue to back our small businesses to start and grow.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made the effectiveness and reliability of small arms equipment issued as standard across the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The effectiveness of small arms is regularly reviewed, with current performance routinely compared to other equipment used by military peers and developed by industry. The requirement for small arms to achieve defined levels of reliability is set prior to procurement and tested prior to purchase. Equipment already in service is continually reviewed, with any emerging issues investigated to resolution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Eastern Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The security situation in eastern Ukraine remains fragile, although a ceasefire agreed in September continues largely to hold following an order issued by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ chief-of-staff on 25 November not to return fire unless in self-defence. Progress on the Minsk peace process was made at a Normandy-format Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 6 November, including agreements on the withdrawal of heavy weapons and de-mining. However these now need to be fully implemented alongside the ceasefire being fully respected.

A report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 9 December reported that the total death toll since mid-April 2014 is at least 9,098, with another 20,732 injured. The report also reveals that serious human rights abuses against people in the separatist-held areas continue, including killings, torture, ill-treatment, illegal detention and forced labour, lack of freedom of movement, assembly and expression. An estimated 2.9 million people living in the conflict area continue to face difficulties in exercising their economic and social rights, in particular access to quality medical care. The already dire humanitarian situation is exacerbated by the lack of access to these areas by international humanitarian organisations. Sustained and unimpeded access by humanitarian organisations to these areas is vital.

I expressed my concern at the situation in Ukraine in a statement at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel on 3 December, where I called on the Russian Federation to withdraw their weapons and personnel, and use their considerable influence over the separatist leadership in order to bring an end to the crisis. I also raised the Government’s concerns about the situation in Eastern Ukraine with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Titov in Moscow on 22 December.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on the number of political prisoners held in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain – including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) economic contribution of pollinator activity across the UK and (b) potential last economic value if pollinator populations continue to decline at present rates; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in our £100 billion food industry. In 2014, Defra published an independent review of the evidence on the status and value of pollinators[1]. The review estimated the total value of all pollinators through the value of insect-pollinated crops in the UK as approximately £600 million, updating estimates of around £400 million in previous Defra-funded research. It also concluded that there was insufficient data to calculate the ‘lost economic value’ of ongoing or likely future changes in pollinator populations.

[1] http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=18916

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will publish the results of its consultation into the Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds

The government published a summary of responses to the consultation Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund alongside Autumn Statement 2015. This document can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479337/Summary_of_consultation_responses-as15-final.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have been infected with HIV and hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products; how much his Department has paid to patients so infected with those diseases to date; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Published data estimates that around 4,700 people with bleeding disorders (such as haemophilia) and around 28,000 other people were exposed to hepatitis C in the United Kingdom. This information is from the UK Haemophilia Doctors’ Organisation 2011 annual report. Around 1,200 people with bleeding disorders and 100 other individuals were infected with HIV through treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood products or blood transfusions in the UK. Many of those infected with HIV were also infected with hepatitis C.

To date over £390 million has been paid out in the UK through the schemes, since they were set up in 1988.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what grants have been made by his Department to registered charities in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Department makes a number of grant payments to non-public sector bodies each financial year to support key policy objectives. This includes grants made to registered charities as well as other voluntary organisations.

In the last year, grants have been made to voluntary organisations, including registered charities as part of:

(a) The Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development scheme. This is a competed scheme where successful applications are funded for up to three years; this provides funding to support proposals with a clear focus on supporting and driving forward new ideas (Innovation), or consolidating or expanding the benefits from successful projects (Excellence) or undertaking of strategic developments in voluntary sector capacity or capability within the health and care field.

(b) The Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund is a competed scheme which uniquely combines grant funding and support to voluntary organisations to increase their capacity, to get the maximum benefit from volunteers.

(c) The Strategic Partner Programme is a system-wide cohort of voluntary sector partners who use their knowledge, expertise and reach to inform and shape policy.

(d) Specific Policy Grants supporting Departmental policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the threat posed to children by domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Data showing the total number of women who have suffered domestic abuse in the last five years is set out in the Crime Statistics published on 11 February 2016: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2014-to-2015/index.html.

Since the 2004/05 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the number of women aged 16 to 59 experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year has reduced from 1.71 million to 1.35 million (360,000 fewer victims and a fall of 21%) and the estimate of the number of women experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year is the lowest since the survey began.

Latest data published by the Office for National Statistics from the 2014/15 CSEW additionally show that in 46% of cases of partner abuse, a child was present in the household, of which 20% of children saw or heard the abuse.

Data on children referred to and assessed by local authority children’s social services in England in 2014/15 show that there were 197,700 assessments where domestic violence was identified as a relevant factor. This data is only available for 2014/15.

The Government works closely with charities, academics and statutory agencies to assess and address the impact of domestic abuse on children and wholly recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. That is why we have expanded the Troubled Families Programme for a further five years (2015-2020) to work with an additional 400,000 families, including those affected by domestic abuse.

To further address the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children, we have introduced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle coercive and controlling behaviour, and in England and Wales we have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. Improvements have been made to the police response to domestic abuse, and we are supporting multi-agency working which takes a whole family approach.

We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to support victims and their children. The Government has already announced £40 million of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2 million grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations his Department has received from internet service providers on the rollout of fibre-optic broadband; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

I hold regular discussions with internet service providers on a wide range of issues. A number of communications infrastructure suppliers and service providers attended the recent not-spot summit on 3 February where they were given the opportunity to discuss the challenges for both mobile and superfast broadband coverage.