The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account his Department takes of the short and long-term economic effect of the number of births in a household in setting the level of welfare benefits.
Damian Hinds
The law relating to the annual increases to certain social security benefits, known as up-rating, is set out in the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016, to Question 44003, whether the battle damage assessment regarding airstrikes in Libya carried out by US forces operating from RAF Lakenheath on 19 February 2016 was shared with the UK.
Mike Penning
The US has, in confidence, shared the results of that strike with the UK. Clearly it would be inappropriate for us to release that detail or to comment on another State’s operations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which designated professional bodies have professional indemnity insurance requirements compliant with clause 2.3 of the Financial Conduct Authority handbook PRU-INV sch13.
Harriett Baldwin
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.
This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which weapons were identified in health and safety near misses reported by his Department involving an unplanned or faulty discharge in each of the last five years; and how many such near misses there were for each of those weapons in each of the those years.
Mark Lancaster
We are investigating the compilation of the requested statistics and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) date and (b) remit was of his authorisation to use RAF Lakenheath as a base to carry out airstrikes in Libya.
Michael Fallon
Authorisation for the United States to use UK bases to launch the airstrike against a Daesh training camp in Libya was given on 18 February 2016. Authorisation would be required for any operations of this nature involving the use of UK bases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces have been employed specialising in the repair and maintenance of survival equipment in the RAF in the last twenty years; and how many former such staff have (a) received a medical discharge and (b) submitted a claim for compensation on the grounds of occupational related ill-health.
Mark Lancaster
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information is available from 1 April 2006 to 1 February 2016, and is given below.
Of the 1,027 personnel identified as being employed in the repair and maintenance of survival equipment in the RAF, around 40 were medically discharged from Service. Around 60 registered an injury/illness claim for a disablement pension under the War Pension Scheme (WPS). Around 100 registered an injury/illness claim under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). Fewer than five made a legal claim for compensation.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. This is because there is a duty under the Data Protection Act 1998 to protect individuals from being identified by the release of information.
The War Pension Scheme provides no-fault compensation for all ex-Service personnel where illness, injury or death is caused by Service from the start of the First World War up until 5 April 2005. This was replaced by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme on 6 April 2005. Please note that these statistics relate to illness and injury; it is not possible to determine which claims are related to occupational ill-health without accessing the individuals’ medical files. An award under the AFCS or WPS may be made for a variety of reasons and not necessarily directly related to the role of a Survival Equipment Fitter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the 10 largest grants to fund research into the use of proton therapy treatment for cancers made from the science budget were in the last five years; and when the results of such research will be published.
Joseph Johnson
Research into cancer involving proton therapy and laser treatment falls within the remit of the Research Councils.
I have asked the Chair of the Research Councils UK Strategic Executive to write to the hon. Member and I will place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of active service on the mental health of (a) drone operators and (b) conventional pilots.
Penny Mordaunt
The Government is committed to improving the mental health of our Armed Forces and has long recognised that Service life can cause stress. Support to all personnel (including pilots of Remotely Piloted Air Systems) is continually improving. We provide pre- and post-operational stress management training; a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments; and initiatives such as Decompression, Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), and post operational stress management. Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels of the risk of mental health disorders and indicators to help identify these.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will establish a treatment programme to support the rehabilitation of young Yazidi and other women.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK is committed to supporting the victims of Daesh’s brutality. Through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund we are supporting a project that offers survivors of sexual violence, including from the Yezidi community, access to health and psychiatric support. This project plans to reach 2,400 women across Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Zakho. We have also translated the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict into Kurdish, to build further the capacity of Kurdish human rights, justice and healthcare professionals to respond to and document these crimes.
We are providing £750,000 to help implement Iraq’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security to support women’s involvement in conflict resolution and the response to gender-based violence. More widely, the UK is providing £79.5 million to the humanitarian response in Iraq. This assistance is reaching hundreds of thousands of people across the country, including the most vulnerable groups, such as Yezidis. All UK-funded aid is distributed on the basis of need, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to how many unaccompanied child refugees her Department has granted permission to join family in the UK; and what the countries of origin were of such children.
James Brokenshire
We support the principle of family unity and have several routes for families to be reunited safely. We do not hold collective figures on how many unaccompanied child refugees have been granted permission to join family in the UK; and what the countries of origin were of such children.