The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any pay rises were awarded to special advisers in the Cabinet Office since 17 December 2015.
Ben Gummer
No pay rises have been awarded to Special Advisers in the Cabinet Office since 17 December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has (a) received from and (b) made to the Colombian government on the amount of coal mined in Colombia by children and young people aged under 16; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not engaged with the Colombian government on this issue. Departmental officials have had discussions with NGOs and industry bodies regarding coal mining in Columbia but have not been made aware of evidence to support these claims. We are aware that Columbia has laws in place to prevent child labour; if there is evidence to the contrary we would encourage the Hon Member to share it with officials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the qualifying threshold for baseline assessment providers was set at 10 per cent of primary schools.
Nick Gibb
The reception baseline contracts contained a number of criteria for approving suppliers.
The 10 per cent threshold was set to ensure a statistically reliable sample size for each supplier when determining the relative progress measure for each pupil.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-12-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many children move schools each month because of bullying, and what assessment they have made of the implications of such moves for the education system and the children affected.
Lord Nash
The Department does not collect information on the number of children who move school each month because of bullying.
All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy including measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour.
In 2015-16, the Government is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.
Levels of bullying have reduced as a consequence of the efforts of schools and anti-bullying charities. The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England published by the Department in November 2015 compared experiences of bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students)from 2004 and 2014. It found that 30,000 fewer people in year 10 in 2014 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represented a decrease from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been unemployed on a part-time basis in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 2008.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in each of the last 10 years.
Lord Bates
The costs to the Government for the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation since 2011 are set out below:
2011-2012: £213,100
2012-2013: £201,700
2013-2014: £213,100
2014-2015: £270,000 (plus an additional £350,800 for the statutory Investigatory Powers Review, as required by section 7 of the Data Protection and Investigatory Powers Act 2014)
2015-2016 (to the half year point in September): £135,800
It is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the Independent Reviewer’s costs prior to 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will place in the Library the most recent submissions made by the parties involved in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.
Anna Soubry
The European Commission has published a large number of documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on its website, including EU proposals for legal text, position papers and factsheets.
The Commission and the US have agreed that national parliamentarians should have access to classified TTIP documents, including consolidated texts, via reading rooms in national ministries. Restrictions placed on these rooms include that they are only accessible to officials of Member State central governments and Members of Member State national Parliaments.
The UK intends to establish such a reading room in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). This will give equivalent access to documents for Members of both Houses to that afforded to Members of the European Parliament. Members of both Houses will be informed of the process and details of how to access the room shortly, once these have been finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many badges of honour have been awarded by (a) Gibraltar, (b) the Falkland Islands, (c) the Cayman Islands and (d) Bermuda in each year since 2010.
James Duddridge
Since 2010 badges of honour have been awarded as follows;
Gibraltar: 2010 – 5; 2011 – 6; 2012 – 6; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 6
Falkland Islands: 2010 – 3; 2011 – 2; 2012 – 1; 2013 – 0; 2014 – 0; 2015 – 2
Cayman Islands: 2010 – 4; 2011 – 8; 2012 – 2; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 2; 2015 – 1
Bermuda: 2010 – 14; 2011 – 7; 2012 – 13; 2013 – 5; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 2
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government about the possibility of Wales hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Alun Cairns
The Wales Office continues to show its support for Wales to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I recently met with the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales and would welcome an opportunity to explore the details of a possible bid further with the new Welsh Government after the National Assembly Elections have taken place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more UK nationals to take up traineeships in the European Parliament and European Commission.
Mr David Lidington
The EU staffing unit, established in April 2013, promotes EU careers across the UK and supports candidates through the application process. It has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.