The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to provide aid to Barbados; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Desmond Swayne
Barbados does not qualify for Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the Department for International Development under internationally agreed ODA criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department’s discussions with Capgemini and Fujitsu began on the replacement of the HM Revenue and Customs IT Aspire contract.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs’ discussions with its IT partners have taken place on a regular basis since the Aspire contract began in 2004. The Department created the Aspire Replacement Programme in 2013 to manage discussions with its partners, following the Memorandum of Understanding in 2012 which led to the adaption of the Aspire contract.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with severe and long-term mental health issues and whose care is coordinated through the Care Programme Approach in each year since 2010 had had a formal meeting to review their care in the previous 12 months.
Alistair Burt
Information on the number of people using National Health Service funded adult secondary mental health services, including those who spent time on the Care Programme Approach (CPA), is shown in the following table.
|
England |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
Total People |
1,287,730 |
1,607,153 |
1,590,332 |
1,746,698 |
1,835,996 |
|
People on CPA |
263,935 |
407,370 |
359,368 |
357,732 |
335,727 |
These figures includes people who have been on CPA for a number of months or years as well as people who had only recently been assigned to CPA. These figures count each individual once, regardless of the number of times they accessed services in the year.
Because of major changes to the Mental Health Minimum Dataset and submission process, figures for these years are not directly comparable. The scope was expanded to include independent sector providers in 2011/12 and learning disability services in 2014/15. Major changes to the submission process between 2010/11 and 2011/12 also contributed to an overall increase in numbers.
A snapshot count of people on CPA at the end of 2014/15 who had been on CPA for at least 12 months and the number and proportion of these who had received a CPA review within the last 12 months is shown in the following table. It has not been possible to provide data for earlier years.
|
England |
March 2015 |
|
People on CPA at the end of the month who had been on CPA for 12 months |
126,679 |
|
People on CPA for 12 months with a review in the previous 12 months |
101,592 |
|
Percentage of people on CPA for 12 months with a review |
80.2% |
The process of the CPA recognises that reviews should be held at least every year. However, where an individual’s needs are sufficiently complicated to require more complex care co-ordination, the frequency of review meetings will be increased.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which companies have been issued with more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) visas in a calendar year for each of the last five years; and how many visas for each such company were issued.
James Brokenshire
A list of the sponsors that have assigned more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) in a calendar year for each of the last five years, which also provides the figures of how many of those CoS were used in support of an individual Tier 2 (ICT) application, are to be placed in the House Library.
To break these figures down further into in and out of country applications, and whether the application was successful would require manual intervention and would exceed cost limits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on UK membership of the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.
Dominic Raab
As I told the House on 26th April, the Government’s position on the European Convention of Human Rights remains clear. We cannot rule out withdrawing forever, but our forthcoming proposals do not include it.
We are confident that we can replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights and reform our relationship with the Strasbourg Court.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their target date for the operation of a regulatory regime for claims management companies.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
At Budget 2016 the Chancellor announced that the government accepts the recommendations of the independent review into the regulation of Claims Management Companies (CMCs). The new regime will be tougher and will ensure CMC managers can be held personally accountable for the actions of their businesses. In order to ensure that the new regulatory regime is implemented effectively, the government intends to transfer responsibility for regulating CMCs from the Ministry of Justice to the Financial Conduct Authority. The government intends to take forward the necessary primary legislation in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British citizens who have entered into early forced marriage have been charged with the cost of repatriation to the UK in the last four years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not provide financial assistance to British nationals overseas, but is sometimes able to provide an emergency loan from public funds for pay for a repatriation. The FCO aims to support all vulnerable British Nationals overseas and this includes victims of forced marriage who receive specialist support from the Forced Marriage Unit. The Forced Marriage Unit work with colleagues overseas to repatriate forced marriage victims and arrange post-repatriation assistance which includes finding suitable emergency accommodation where needed and providing advice and support. The Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,220 cases in 2015, 1,267 in 2014, 1,302 in 2013, and 1,485 in 2012. To provide more information on the nature of the assistance provided over the last 4 years, including repatriation, would involve a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had on the future of regional programming as part of the BBC Charter renewal process.
Matt Hancock
The new Charter requires the BBC to better reflect, represent and serve all of the UK’s nations and regions. The new public purposes make clear that the BBC should ensure it provides content and services that meet the needs of the UK’s nations, regions and communities.
The specific content of regional programming is, however, an editorial matter for the BBC and there is a long-standing principle that the Government does not interfere in programme matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase the number of simple, low risk investment products that are available to charitable organisations; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
Charities can invest their funds in a wide range of investment products. Charity trustees should refer to the Charity Commission’s guidance on investments, and should generally seek professional advice before investing.
There are some specific investment products available only to charities. Common Investment Funds and Common Deposit Funds are collective investment and deposit vehicles open to charities.
In addition, the government announced at Budget 2015 the introduction of a new Charity Authorised Investment Fund structure. This will bring new investment funds established for charitable purposes under FCA regulation, ensuring they receive the same regulatory oversight and protections as funds for retail investors.
The FCA is currently consulting on measures to implement the new fund structure. The proposals being consulted on include the registration of the fund as a charity, the role of advisory committees, and provisions on income distribution and capital allocation. The consultation will close on 7 December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools provide support and guidance to pupils who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Edward Timpson
Schools play an important role in safeguarding children from all forms of abuse. Our statutory guidance is clear that schools have an important role in identifying children who may be suffering abuse, or at risk of abuse, and then take necessary action, working with other services where appropriate. Schools also have an important role in raising pupils’ awareness of these issues, thus helping pupils to keep themselves safe.
The Department for Education has produced statutory guidance for schools, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of schools and their staff, and which contains links to more detailed advice on specific forms of abuse, including domestic violence, teenage relationship abuse and forced marriage.
Schools can use relevant parts of the curriculum, including sex and relationship education and personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), to raise pupils’ awareness. It is for schools to determine which issues they address and how, and the Government’s statutory guidance on sex and relationship education makes clear that schools should ensure that young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgements and behaviour. To complement work done in schools, the Government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign has helped to educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships.