The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.
Amber Rudd
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General today to Question 36288:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the treatment of minority religious groups in Turkey.
Mr David Lidington
We have noted the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and regularly discuss issues concerning freedom of religion and belief, including those of the Alevi community, with our Turkish interlocutors. We will continue to do so. The Turkish government continues to improve protections for all religious minorities in Turkey. We welcome the continuing implementation of the Law on Foundations which has seen a number of properties returned to minority community foundations or the payment of compensation. As we highlighted to Turkey through the 2015 UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, we would like to see Turkey implement legislation that increases protection of the rights of persons belonging to all minority religious groups, including the status of their places of worship.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote private sector investment in Kurdistan.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
In recognition of the potential investment opportunities in Iraq as a whole, the Department for International Trade has recently finalised an ambitious five-year Business Plan. That plan seeks to underpin the promotion of British trade across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), to deliver maximum export opportunities for UK companies and ensure that we take advantage of the opportunities that the KRI market offers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45104, when her Department plans to publish its final policy on apprenticeship funding reforms.
Robert Halfon
We will be publishing details of our final funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the provision of free childcare to UK productivity in (a) 2005-2010, (b) 2010-2015 and (c) 2015-2020.
Priti Patel
DWP have made no assessment of the provision of free childcare on productivity itself. However, several reports, including the DWP working paper A Survey of Childcare and Work Decisions among Families with Children, identify childcare costs as one of the main barriers to returning to work after the birth of a child. ONS data show women with young children have lower employment rates than men, and the Resolution Foundation reports that mothers who are employed are more likely to have part time and low-paid jobs due to childcare responsibilities. Provision of free childcare should support mothers to combine high-skilled and full time work with raising children.
Also, evidence from the IFS report The Economic Effects of Pre-school Education and Quality suggests that children who have attended pre-school earn more over their working lives on average than children who have had little or no pre-schooling.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeships the Government has supported in Dundee in each year since 2010; and what the per capita average financial value of that support was.
Nick Boles
Apprenticeship policy is a devolved matter. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not collect apprenticeships information relating to the devolved administrations. It is for the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to determine how they manage their own apprenticeship programmes and they will continue to have complete flexibility over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19049, if he will ensure that there will be no gaps in capability between the decommissioning of HMS Ocean and its role being taken over by other ships.
Mr Philip Dunne
We will ensure that other ships are available to provide support to amphibious operations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to incentivise developers to co-fund the deployment of local fibre broadband networks to properties which are not scheduled for connection free of charge.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government’s recent announcement of a new deal bringing industry together will see fibre-based broadband offered to all new developments for free or part of a co-funded initiative. In addition, the Home Builders Federation are committed to promoting and supporting uptake of the co-funding offer among their membership.
This new offer sets a high bar for all suppliers and developers in the market, and Government will be working with industry closely to monitor success over the next year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-03-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with small businesses and small business associations on the proposal to move to a quarterly digital tax reporting system by 2020.
Mr David Gauke
Both I and officials from HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have discussed the Making Tax Digital reforms with a wide range of professional bodies and advisory groups representing small businesses and the self-employed.
The Government has recently concluded an initial 4 week consultation with businesses on the Making Tax Digital reforms. Further consultations will take place with all stakeholders throughout 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the contribution of the arms export industry to the UK economy in 2014.
Anna Soubry
The Department does not collate data on the value of the total contribution that arms exports make to the UK economy. However, we do publish official statistics on defence exports, which show that the UK’s defence export total in 2014 was an estimated £8.5bn. Further details of defence exports can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-defence-and-security-export-figures-2014
“