The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he plans to spend on defence engagement functions in each year from 2015 to 2020.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Department is currently working to identify the implications of the Spending Review settlement for specific elements of the Defence budget, and has not yet confirmed the funding which will be allocated to Defence Engagement activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to close HM Prison Bristol.
Andrew Selous
On 9 November 2015, the Chancellor and Secretary of State announced their intention to build a prison estate which allows prisoners to be rehabilitated, thereby enabling them to turn away from a life of crime. This will involve building nine new prisons and closing old and inefficient prisons.
No decisions have yet been made on which prisons will be closed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has, when removing housing benefit entitlement from young people, to protect the entitlement of those who are (a) leaving care, (b) pregnant, or (c) have dependent children.
Justin Tomlinson
Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy, and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration and as set out in my Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590. Should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will estimate the level of creditor claims related to insolvency litigation in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what protocols her Department has on removing from the UK people who have been refused leave to remain and who require (a) 16 hours and (b) 24 hours of oxygen per day for medical reasons.
James Brokenshire
There are no protocols in place for enforced removals in such circumstances. Any such case would be assessed by our medical escorting contractor on the basis of the individual’s need.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Matthew Hancock
The published Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) contains both the proportion of staff in the Cabinet Office that are (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff and the associated spend. The ARA for each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 are available on gov.uk.
The 2015-16 will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department plans to do to increase the number of refugees reaching the UK safely and legally under the family reunification scheme.
Mr Robert Goodwill
We support the principle of family unity and have several routes for families to be reunited safely. Our family reunion policy allows a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. Over the past five years we have granted over 22,000 family reunion visas and will continue to do so.
Where an application fails under the Immigration Rules, we consider whether there are exceptional or compassionate reasons for granting a visa outside the Rules. We published a revised Home Office policy on family reunion in July which provides further guidance for decision-makers on the types of case that may benefit from a grant of leave outside the Rules where there are exceptional circumstances.
This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-reunion-instruction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-10-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the European Investment Bank.
Mr David Gauke
While the UK remains a full member of the European Union it retains all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings. The long-term relationship between the UK and the EIB will need to be resolved as part of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK Governor of the European Investment Bank and continues to fulfil his governance duties. The Chancellor continues to meet his European counterparts on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.
The EIB publish all loans made to UK borrowers as well as details on all future projects yet to be financed. Between 2013 and 2015, the UK received €20.7bn in EIB financing. The link below provides full details on EIB lending to the UK.
http://www.eib.org/projects/regions/european-union/united-kingdom/index.htm
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Guto Bebb on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support prostate cancer awareness campaigns and screening programmes.
Jane Ellison
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. In 2010, the UK NSC recommended against a screening programme for prostate cancer as there was no clear evidence that the benefit to screen for prostate cancer outweighed the harms. The UK NSC re-affirmed this decision in 2012 and is in the process of reviewing this policy currently.
The School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield performed an option appraisal for the UK NSC based on the latest trial evidence for screening for prostate cancer in 2013. A number of screening strategies were considered including annual screening in men aged 50 to 74 years. The overall survival benefit with all strategies was small and outweighed by the harms of over diagnosis and the adverse effects of over treatment.
Public Health England (PHE) ran a local pilot campaign for six weeks in 2014, specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, because of their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The campaign ran in six London boroughs. In addition, PHE will be running a national campaign on “Blood in Pee” in early 2016. This is primarily aimed at bladder and kidney cancer but blood in the urine can also be a sign of prostate cancer.