Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding the Government has committed to the Global Fund Investment Case, Fifth Replenishment 2017-19 for fighting infections.

    James Wharton

    The Fifth Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria took place on 15 and 16 September in Montreal, Canada.

    At the conference, the Secretary of State announced an investment of £1.1billion in the Global Fund, including a commitment to double private sector contributions for tackling malaria, up to a maximum of £200million, and £90million linked to successful delivery against a performance agreement.

    The UK’s investment will help to fund 40million bednets to tackle malaria; provide enough lifesaving anti-retroviral therapy for 1.3million people with HIV; and support the treatment of 800,000 people with tuberculosis. Overall, our investment will help the Global Fund to save 8million lives, avert 300million infections and help build resilient and sustainable systems for health.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the family test across Government.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014, through the publication of guidance for officials – which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf. Consideration of the Family Test takes place as part of the usual policy making process within departments.

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government’s policy is on monitoring the contents of (a) imported and (b) exported containers for security purposes; and what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on such monitoring.

    Mr John Hayes

    It is a long standing convention of successive governments not to comment on matters relating to national security.

    The Home Secretary regularly meets with the Secretary of State for Transport as part of the process of policy development and delivery, but it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of discussions concerning the development of national security policy.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to persuade Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to (a) accept a similar number of Syrian refugees as Jordan and (b) increase their financial support for such refugees.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK actively engages with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, on humanitarian and development assistance, and the Gulf States continue to contribute generously to humanitarian support for the Syria crisis. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are amongst the top ten bilateral aid donors. Contributions from these four Gulf States to UN appeals alone amounts to over $2.5bn. Additionally Kuwait chairs the Top Donor Group and has hosted three pledging conferences. Kuwait is also one of the co-hosts of the London Syria Donors Conference on 4 February. The Gulf States are also contributing through regional charities. For example, the UAE funds the Emirates Jordan camp which houses over 6,000 refugees.

    The Gulf States are not signatories to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951, and there is no legal refugee status in these countries. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are living in Gulf States as migrant workers or on visitors’ visas. The EU is also engaging the Gulf States on the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department did not give one year’s notice of the new system for assessment of pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

    Nick Gibb

    The new national curriculum tests at Key Stages 1 and 2 were first announced in March 2014, and since then we have provided schools with further information to help them adapt to the assessment arrangements. In addition to sample questions published in summer 2014, complete sample tests were published in summer 2015 to give primary schools nearly a year of lead-in time to ensure their pupils are adequately prepared.

    The new interim teacher assessment frameworks ay Key Stages 1 and 2 were published in September 2015 and were therefore provided at the start of the academic year in time for use this summer. Our public consultation on the frameworks received a large volume of diverse feedback, which we wanted to give proper consideration before introducing the important change for schools. Recent publications in January and February 2016 did not announce any change to assessment arrangements, but provided example materials to support teachers in making teacher assessment judgements.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what proportion the number of armed forces personnel and civilian staff employed by his Department changed between 2011 and 2015.

    Mark Lancaster

    At 1 April 2011, 38.8 per cent of Senior Personnel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and 61.2 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star (Army Brigadier and equivalent) and above. At 1 April 2015, 39.2 per cent were SCS and 60.8 per cent were UK Regulars at One Star and above.

    At 1 April 2011, there were 480 UK Regular personnel ranked One Star and above; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 6.9 per cent to 450.

    At 1 April 2011, there were 300 SCS personnel in the MOD; by 1 April 2015 this figure had decreased by 5.3 per cent to 290.

    The following tables provide the requested breakdown, by year, of UK Regular Strength at One Star and above, and SCS headcount:

    UK Regular Strength at One Star and above

    1 April 2010

    1 April 2011

    1 April 2012

    1 April 2013

    1 April 2014

    1 April 2015

    1 Oct 2015

    500

    480

    470

    440

    440

    450

    440

    SCS Headcount

    1 April 2010

    1 April 2011

    1 April 2012

    1 April 2013

    1 April 2014

    1 April 2015

    1 January 2016

    320

    300

    270

    280

    280

    290

    310

    The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2011 was 186,360. The strength of UK Regular Personnel at 1 April 2015 was 153,720. This represents a 17.5 per cent decrease between 2011 and 2015.

    The MOD civilian staff (CS) headcount at 1 April 2011 was around 87,000. The CS headcount at 1 April 2015 was 59,900. This represents an estimated decrease of 31.2 per cent between 2011 and 2015.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much EU (a) 7th Framework Programme and (b) Horizon 2020 funding has been provided to (i) universities, (ii) other research institutions and (iii) small businesses in the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The figures for organisations in the West Midlands are set out below. These reflect the full value of grant agreements signed in each calendar year, not the money received in that year.

    Higher and Secondary Education Organisations (HES) agreed funding (€):

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    FP7

    34,512,638

    65,197,543

    62,376,751

    23,703,605

    Horizon 2020

    10,025,431

    64,947,891

    Non-profit Research organisations (REC) agreed funding (€):

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    FP7

    459,795

    1,873,085

    946,077

    2,102,799

    Horizon 2020

    819,340

    2,297,233

    All Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) agreed funding (€):

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    FP7

    7,861,934

    11,503,709

    11,193,539

    2,773,696

    Horizon 2020

    3,471,182

    14,249,221

    Please note that the SME figures may include some HES or REC organisations.

    The variation in the figures across the years in part reflects the fact that calls are competitively bid for and vary in the amount of funding available; and in part the fact that the FP7 budget was back-loaded, with increasing amounts of money available to award as grants in the final two years of the programme (2012-2013). In contrast, relatively few grants were awarded in the first year of Horizon 2020 (2014), which thereafter is due to run with annual budgets larger than those available to FP7.

    Overall, the UK was the second biggest recipient of EU research funding under FP7, and remains so under Horizon 2020.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the independent review of the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright did not inquire into wider governance concerns raised as part of the review when its terms or reference allowed it to report on other relevant matters that arose during the course of the review.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    These are matters in the first instance for NHS Improvement. The Verita report, Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright, was commissioned by the NHS Trust Development Authority – a forerunner organisation – independently of Government.

    NHS Improvement is commissioning a governance review to consider issues highlighted by the Verita report. A copy of the terms of reference for the new governance review are attached.

    Verita was originally requested (under specific terms of reference) to review and provide a dedicated report on the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright. Governance issues that fell outside of those terms of reference will be considered in the new review, to ensure thorough investigation.

    The new review will take into account evidence provided by Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright and others in the course of the Verita review.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many new civil servants he plans to employ in his Department.

    Mr David Jones

    The new Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government, including from the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU. The department has already started drawing together expertise from a wide range of departments where there is specific relevant knowledge. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are now being considered – the department now has over 180 staff.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department plans to publish its Civil Society Review.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government intends to publish the outcome of the Civil Society Partnership Review shortly.