The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of differences in mortality rates for (a) permanent and (b) temporary workers.
Nick Boles
My Department has not made an assessment of the differences in mortality rates for permanent and temporary workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of defence expenditure was spent through small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes data on direct expenditure with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), excluding its trading funds, in the Finance & Economics Annual Bulletin: Trade, Industry & Contracts Statistics on the Gov.UK website. The final figures for financial years 2014-15 and 2013-14 are available at the link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. The final figures for financial year 2015-16 are not yet available.
The MOD does not hold data on expenditure with SMEs through the supply chain (indirect expenditure). The Cabinet Office has published indicative indirect expenditure with SMEs, collated from spend figures reported by suppliers, in their publication ‘Central Government direct and indirect expenditure with SMEs’. Figures for 2014-15 and 2013-14′ are available at the respective links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014.
Figures released by the Cabinet Office in this publication indicate that MOD direct and indirect spend with SMEs was 19.4% in each year. The figures for 2015-16 are not yet available.
The MOD has agreed a new target with the Cabinet Office of 25% procurement spend (both direct and indirect) with SMEs by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his (a) US counterpart and (b) other NATO counterparts on the role of the 77th Brigade.
Penny Mordaunt
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when funding bands for apprenticeships starting after April 2017 will be published.
Robert Halfon
Details of proposed funding bands for existing apprenticeship frameworks and standards were published on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-proposals-for-funding-from-may-2017. The proposals were supported by a short employer survey which closed on 5 September.
We aim to publish final funding bands for apprenticeship frameworks and standards in October for those that start on or after 1 May 2017.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contribution from the public purse has been made to the Commonwealth Secretariat in each of the last five years; and how much the UK is expected to so provide in each of the next five years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK remains the largest financial contributor to the Commonwealth Secretariat, providing around 32% of the total budget. To establish a reasonable baseline, financial contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget are based on scales agreed at the UN. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) assessed contributions for the last five years were as follows:
2011/2012 £5,168,586
2012/2013 £5,262,654
2013/2014 £5,326,331
2014/2015 £5,455,484
2015/2016 £5,469,640
UN scales of assessment 2016 – 2018 were agreed in New York in December 2015. They will form the basis for future FCO contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget. Under existing Commonwealth guidelines, the budget is shared amongst the membership in accordance with three principles: Capacity to Pay, Equitable burden sharing and shared ownership and responsibility. This ensures that all members enjoy an equal voice within the organisation.
In addition to FCO assessed contributions, the Department for International Development also makes voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and a number of Commonwealth programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14454, what (a) funding and (b) other support the Government has offered UNHCR to identify people for resettlement to date.
Richard Harrington
We recognise that the scaling up of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme is placing additional demands on UNHCR and have offered them additional support in the form of funding, equipment and seconded personnel, to help with upscaling their resettlement operations. We are currently finalising a support package and will publish details of this once agreed.
This assistance is in addition to £122 million we have already allocated to UNHCR’s work in Syria and the region since the start of the crisis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups improve (a) screening, (b) vaccination and (b) symptom awareness in order to address geographical inequalities in cancer outcomes.
Jane Ellison
The NHS public health functions agreement, between the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England, enables NHS England to commission certain public health services, including national immunisation and screening programmes that will drive improvements in population health.
Through this agreement, NHS England commissions services from a variety of providers across England. It strives to reduce variation in local levels of performance between different geographical areas using contracting and commissioning levers, while national and local levels of performance are improved or maintained.
The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July this year, and recognised the importance of early diagnosis and symptom awareness to improve both patient outcomes and experience. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of Staying Put arrangements on foster children.
Edward Timpson
Staying Put arrangements help to provide the security and stability that care leavers need to make a successful transition to adulthood. The Department for Education has provided funding of £44m to local authorities for 2014/15 to 2016/17 to support them in implementing the new duty.
Data published by my Department in October 2015 show that, for the year ending March 2015, 48% of eligible care leavers were in a Staying Put arrangement at age 18.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the value of financial contributions to the EU in 2015 that were attributable to London and the South East of England.
Mr David Gauke
Contributions to the EU are paid directly from HM Government and thus are not attributable to any one part of the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to phase out the use of an 0345 number for the universal credit helpline and replace it with a freephone number.
Priti Patel
DWP have no plans to phase out the 0345 number. The Department is transforming the way it delivers its services embracing new digital channels and technology. The main route to access Universal Credit is online and research shows that around 90% of claimants make their claim online.