Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials of his Department were employed specifically to assist with negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement

Anna Soubry

Prior to 1 April 2014 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was handled alongside a number of other trade negotiations. On 1 April 2014 my Department established a Unit whose primary purpose is to assist with the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but which also handles certain other international matters. In April 2014 this Unit comprised 8 staff primarily working on TTIP and 4 working on other international matters. It currently comprises 10 staff working primarily of TTIP and 6 working on other international matters. Staff expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £793313, and in 15/16 is projected to be £916007. Total expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £886813 and in 15/16 is projected to be £926774.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received a document from the Indian government on Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes

The department has not received any documents on Sikh radicalisation in the UK from the Indian government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have been made from Calais in each year since 2010; and how many such applications have been unsuccessful.

James Brokenshire

Our international obligations under the Refugee Convention do not extend to accepting asylum claims from outside the United Kingdom. There is no provision in our Immigration Rules for someone to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Individuals currently in Calais in need of international protection are expected to claim asylum in France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of changes in the participation rate on economic productivity; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

Government action to reward work and reform benefits has delivered a strong labour market which has seen the employment rate grow more than any other G7 country since early 2010 (Q1), and in the three months to January it stood at 74.1 per cent – the highest since records began.

The government believes it is possible to maintain a strong labour market and improve productivity performance, and this why it has set out a comprehensive programme of structural reform in the productivity plan – “Fixing the Foundations” – with further measures included in Budget 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of its spending on reducing homelessness in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Since 2010 we have invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support those vulnerable and at risk of homelessness. One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the course of this Parliament. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.

We also announced at Budget £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much EU (a) 7th Framework Programme and (b) Horizon 2020 funding has been provided to (i) universities, (ii) other research institutions and (iii) small businesses in the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson

The figures for organisations in the West Midlands are set out below. These reflect the full value of grant agreements signed in each calendar year, not the money received in that year.

Higher and Secondary Education Organisations (HES) agreed funding (€):

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
FP7	34,512,638	65,197,543	62,376,751	23,703,605
Horizon 2020				10,025,431	64,947,891

Non-profit Research organisations (REC) agreed funding (€):

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
FP7	459,795	1,873,085	946,077	2,102,799
Horizon 2020				819,340	2,297,233

All Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) agreed funding (€):

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
FP7	7,861,934	11,503,709	11,193,539	2,773,696
Horizon 2020				3,471,182	14,249,221

Please note that the SME figures may include some HES or REC organisations.

The variation in the figures across the years in part reflects the fact that calls are competitively bid for and vary in the amount of funding available; and in part the fact that the FP7 budget was back-loaded, with increasing amounts of money available to award as grants in the final two years of the programme (2012-2013). In contrast, relatively few grants were awarded in the first year of Horizon 2020 (2014), which thereafter is due to run with annual budgets larger than those available to FP7.

Overall, the UK was the second biggest recipient of EU research funding under FP7, and remains so under Horizon 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many adult learners participated in government-funded further education courses in each of the last three years.

Nick Boles

Information on the number of adult learners participating in government-funded further education, and specifically English and maths, in each of the last three years is published as part of a Statistical First Release.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

Information on Skills Funding Agency spending on the Adult Skills Budget is outlined in their Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at the following links:

2014-15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

2013-14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

2012-13: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-for-2012-to-2013

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of providing adult education courses over the next five years.

Nick Boles

The skills funding letter published in December 2015 sets out priorities and funding for adult education over the next 5 years. Across all of the funding streams used to support adult education participation, we are increasing funding by 40% in cash terms. It is for colleges and private providers, working with their local areas, to decide how best to use that funding in the interests of the learners and employers they serve.

A full copy of the funding letter can be viewed via – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2016-to-march-2017.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of pharmacies in the UK in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The information requested is provided in the following table.

Number of registered pharmacies in Great Britain, both National Health Service and private, for each of the last 10 years

As at 31 December
2006	12,545
2007	12,844
2008	12,958
2009	13,224
2010 (as at 31 October)	13,465
As at 31 March
2011	13,500
2012	13,850
2013	14,186
2014	14,306
2015	14,367
2016	14,397

Source: For the years 2006 to 2009 the data is taken from archived records of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. From 2010 to 2016 the information has been provided by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Number of registered pharmacies in Northern Ireland, both NHS and private, for each of the last 10 years (as at 31 May)

2006	548
2007	530
2008	538
2009	539
2010	542
2011	543
2012	548
2013	548
2014	549
2015	552

Source: Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost was of the InterCity West Coast rail franchise consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

The InterCity West Coast rail franchise consultation launched earlier in the month and is due to close in August, so the total cost is not yet known. To date around £12,500 has been incurred to produce and distribute the consultation documentation and supporting materials in both English and Welsh.

We will continue to engage with the public at events over the coming weeks and hope that they will make their views heard so that we can ensure that the next franchise truly meets their needs. We will also be holding regional events with stakeholders across the route over the consultation period providing opportunities for them to put questions to DfT officials to help inform their responses to the consultation.