The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many North Korean owned or financed businesses operate in the UK.
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 Tom Brake on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS114, what progress he has made on consulting on the removal of local clinical excellence awards and proposals for a reformed National Clinical Excellence Award Scheme and determining the priority that will be given to recognising service-based consultants within any new scheme and monitoring the recognition that they receive.
Alistair Burt
In September 2015 the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers agreed to recommence negotiations on reforming the National Health Service consultant contract, using observations from the independent Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration (DDRB) as a starting point.
The negotiations, which concluded in December, included considering the replacement of Local Clinical Excellence awards with contractual performance payments. We expect an amended contract offer will be put to BMA members in the coming weeks.
We also expect to consult on proposals for a reformed national scheme early this year. This will be informed by developments on consultant contract reform, as well as recommendations previously made by the DDRB in 2012. The consultation will be mindful of the importance of recognising the contributions of all consultants including service based consultants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have guidelines for local authorities about charging for responses to Freedom of Information requests.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government has not published guidance for local authorities about charging for Freedom of Information requests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide a breakdown of the main reasons why applications to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme were turned down in each of the last five years.
Priti Patel
The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) is a voluntary scheme. Eligible claimants will be referred to one of our contracted NEA providers who will assess their business idea for viability and sustainability. Claimants who are not accepted onto the scheme can be re-referred at a later date.
We do not hold the data on how many people are rejected by our providers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Bahrain on the imprisonment of Zainab Al Khawaja; and whether he plans to make representations to press for Zainab Al Khawaja’s release.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We have raised Zainab Al Khawaja’s case with the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. I most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa , on 8 March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in how many towns there is no choice of secondary education provision.
Edward Timpson
The information requested is not held in the required format.
The Department’s register of educational establishments in England and Wales, EduBase, contains the postal address details of all schools including the postal town which may differ from the actual town where the school is located.
The EduBase system is publically available and can be accessed at: http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) other NATO member states and (b) Russia on bilateral reductions in stockpiles of non-strategic nuclear weapons; and whether such reductions were discussed at the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in April 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Reductions in US and Russian nuclear forces have been negotiated directly between those two countries. Officials regularly discuss the implementation of those agreements, including the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement, with the US and other NATO partners. Nuclear weapons were not discussed at the meeting of the NATO/Russia Council held on 20 April 2016, which mainly focussed on the situation in Ukraine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the allegations of violence by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s against its citizens, and its use of threats to the international community for the purpose of advancing its political cause.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) arbitrary use of violence against its citizens, as documented in the UN Commission of Inquiry report, underlines the brutality of the regime and its lack of respect for basic human rights. The Government has made clear its concerns about the appalling human rights situation in North Korea, directly with the regime and in international fora, including at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
The DPRK’s flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and its continuing provocative behaviour is a clear threat to regional stability and international security. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2270 on 2 March 2016 in response to the DPRK’s nuclear test of 6 January and satellite launch, using ballistic technology, of 7 February. The EU has implemented additional measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters they have written to (1) women, and (2) men, to inform them of changes to their state pension age; of those letters sent out, how many were returned undelivered; and when letters were returned undelivered, what efforts they then made to contact those individuals.
Lord Freud
Between April 2009 and March 2011, the Department mailed all women born between 6th April 1950 and 5th April 1953, informing them of their State Pension age under the 1995 Pensions Act. This involved sending 1.16 million letters to the affected females.
Following the 2011 changes DWP wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their State Pension age. This applied to women born between 6th April 1953 and the 5th of April 1960 and men born between 6th December 1953 and 5th April 1960. These letters were sent between January 2012 and November 2013. This involved sending 5.77 million letters to the affected males and females.
We do not have the total number of letters returned undelivered over the course of all the exercises. However, I can confirm we have a robust process in place to review all incorrect address returns and properly scrutinise and update customer account details when an address is confirmed. For State Pension customers, this process includes re-establishing contact through Local Authority Social Services or a DWP Visiting Officer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 September (HL1574), and in the light of the significant investment in improvements to the A1 highway near Gamston Airport, whether they plan to raise the speed limit on that stretch of the highway above 50 mph.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Highways England have plans to increase the speed limit on the A1 between Elkesley and Twyford Bridge to 70mph on the southbound carriageway through the new improvements. However, this cannot be implemented until works from the road safety audit have been addressed and new signs have been installed, which will be completed by March 2017.
There are also plans to increase the speed limit to 70mph on the northbound carriageway. However, the current speed limit will remain in place until an acceptable solution is found for the full closure of a direct access off the A1 to a private property and when the improvements have been made for a new alternative access