The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office promotes the UK’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe. As such, we do not have responsibility for creating domestic policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the survey published in November 2015 by Cancer Research UK which found that only 19 per cent of women aged from 50 to 64 were aware that the main purpose of the national cervical screening programme is to prevent cervical cancer.
Jane Ellison
NHS Screening Programmes are committed to giving people information to support them to make an informed choice about whether or not to take up the offer of screening. There is a group dedicated to researching, developing and evaluating information for those invited for screening, and service users and providers are involved at all stages.
The NHS Screening Programmes aim to provide clarity in the leaflets and information given to people.
The NHS Screening Programmes will continue to work closely with voluntary sector groups like Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and with NHS Choices to help raise awareness of the intentions of the programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to address the shortfall of trainee teachers in business studies, social science, and design and technology.
Lord Nash
Teaching continues to be a popular career choice for both graduates and career changers, and last year we recruited 1,000 more secondary teachers overall than in the previous year. We recognise, however, that recruitment is more difficult in some subjects than others, which is why we offer generous financial incentives in those subjects where more teachers are needed to meet demand.
We continue to support recruitment to Design and Technology initial teacher training through bursaries of up to £12,000. Subject knowledge enhancement courses are also available for those candidates who need to refresh or boost their knowledge of Design and Technology prior to commencing teacher training.
Bursaries are designed to incentivise applications in subjects where it is difficult to recruit, and where the Department’s teacher supply model tells us that we need to attract more applicants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote shared ownership.
Brandon Lewis
Shared Ownership has an important role to play in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it. The Autumn Statement confirmed £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership starts by 2021 and we have relaxed restrictions on who can buy Shared Ownership homes. A new prospectus for the Affordable Homes Programme will be published in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations board to offer GCSE and A-level Gujarati examinations beyond September 2018; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The exam boards are independent organisations, and the department continues to work closely with them to secure the future of all the existing language GCSEs and A levels, including Gujarati.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made in its programme to increase the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets among children under five years of age and pregnant women in Uganda.
Mr Nick Hurd
Results from the 2014-15 internationally recognised Malaria Indicator Survey indicate that the proportion of children under five in Uganda who slept under treated nets had gone up from 42% in 2009 to 74%; and that the proportion of pregnant women who slept under a treated net had gone up from 47% in 2009 to 75%. The UK has been a significant contributor to bed nets in Uganda. We have funded procurement and distribution of 5 million bed nets and distributed an additional 4.5 million bed nets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has (a) invested in and (b) made an assessment of the potential merits of acquiring unmanned underwater vehicles.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.
Specifically for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels employ a UUV for remote mine-disposal, known as the Seafox mine-disposal system. In addition, the Fleet Diving Squadron employs a small UUV for seabed searches.
It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase her Department’s expenditure on water and sanitation.
Mr Nick Hurd
The UK has increased its bilateral spend on water and sanitation year on year since 2004, from £31.2million (2004/05) to £180.8million (2014/15).
The Department for International Development does not allocate a set proportion of the aid budget to water and sanitation. The UK Aid strategy commits the UK to helping at least 60million people get access to water and sanitation by 2020. We will allocate the resources required to achieve this to the relevant programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the number of unaccompanied child refugees in Calais who have family in the UK; and when that assessment was carried out.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The management of asylum claims and the protection of unaccompanied children in Calais is primarily a matter for the French authorities. A French non-government organisation, France Terre D’Asile (FDTA) has been charged with identifying isolated children with UK links. Both Governments are clear that unaccompanied children in Calais in need of protection should claim asylum in France. The UK will consider requests to take responsibility of an asylum application made in France, when lodged by a minor with close family connections in the UK, and both Governments are committed to ensuring such cases are prioritised. There has been intense cooperation between the UK and French authorities to improve the operation of the Dublin process. We have established a permanent official level contact group and we will shortly be seconding another UK expert to the French Interior Ministry. We have already made significant progress in speeding up the Dublin process. Since the beginning of the year over 120 children have been accepted for transfer from Europe under the family reunion provisions of Dublin, over 70 of whom were from France.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of his Department’s spending on hospitality to date.
Mr Robin Walker
Information about spend on hospitality for Senior officials, Ministers and Special Advisers will be published in the usual way through the transparency data on gov.uk.
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