The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of his Department’s capacity to administer different rates of child benefits to other EU member states.
Damian Hinds
Details of the proposals for child benefit are subject to ongoing negotiation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the illustrative rotas for junior doctors, published by NHS Employers on 18 February 2016, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of doctors switching to night shifts for a single shift only on the effectiveness of those rotas.
Ben Gummer
It is a matter for employers to design rotas that meet the service needs of the National Health Service organisation and the training needs of the doctor. This would include the pattern of working night shifts subject to the limitations in the new contract. NHS Employers is committed to supporting employers to adhere to good rostering practices as the new contract is introduced and will feed this into the contract review process agreed with the British Medical Association as part of the contract negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether apprenticeship levy funds will be usable to pay for qualifications embedded within apprenticeship standards.
Nick Boles
Employers will be able to use their levy funding (up to a maximum which will depend upon the standard or framework that is being trained against) to cover the costs of an apprentice’s training, assessment and certification. Apprenticeship training can either be on an apprenticeship standard, or on an apprenticeship framework.
Where a qualification is a requirement for achieving the standard or framework employers will be able to use levy funds to pay for the qualification. Levy funding cannot be used to fund other qualifications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the decision to delay inquiring into wider governance issues at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and the role that the Trust is being asked to play in helping the re-configuration of services in Staffordshire are connected, and if so, how.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS Improvement advises that Verita’s report Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright was undertaken and published independently of Government and of any role the Trust played in the reconfiguration of services in Staffordshire. The review did not relate in any way to the reconfiguration.
The content and timing of the review into wider concerns about governance at the Trust will not be affected in any way by the Staffordshire reconfiguration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of how the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 applies in relation to UK citizens currently living in other EU countries.
Mr David Jones
Article 70 of the Vienna Convention applies to States only. It does not create rights for individuals. Nevertheless, we would expect to deal with the rights of UK citizens living in other EU member states and the rights of EU nationals already living in the UK as part of the UK’s exit negotiations.
At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU member states were not protected in return.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has made plans to assist with additional funding or aid subsequent to the changes in refugee numbers entering into Mosul.
Rory Stewart
On 21 September, the UK announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, on top of £50 million committed earlier this year. This brings our total commitment in Iraq to £169.5 million since June 2014. This support will provide emergency life-saving assistance – such as food, shelter, medical and protection services – to support the Government of Iraq-led Mosul humanitarian response as well as continuing to provide assistance for displaced and vulnerable people across the country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to promote diversity in the composition of the judiciary by reference to (1) socio-economic status, (2) ethnicity, (3) gender, and (4) age.
Lord Faulks
The Government fully supports a more diverse judiciary and has taken steps to improve representation, whilst still appointing the best people for the job.
In Courts and Tribunals the representation of women has risen to 32.3% of the judiciary, compared to 28.8% in 2012. Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation has risen to 7.4 % from 6.8% over the same period.
The Government works with its partners in the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the legal professions through the Judicial Diversity Forum to take action to increase the diversity of the judiciary at all levels.
Recent initiatives include:
This work builds on significant legislative changes which:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what planning he has undertaken to ensure that any UN airstrikes in Syria are (a) co-ordinated with all participating countries and (b) do not harm UN relations with the Russian Federation.
Michael Fallon
UK airstrikes are undertaken as part of the Global Coalition’s counter-Daesh campaign and are coordinated by the Coalition’s Combined Air Operations Centre based at Al Udeid in Qatar. UK aircraft also abide by the provisions and procedures in the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Russia which aims to prevent flight safety incidents over Syria and Iraq.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Howell on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of the glorification by the Fatah movement of terrorists who have murdered Israelis.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I am aware of reports of statements praising the actions of terrorists. This includes the recent statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which praised Nashat Milhem as a martyr following his attack in Tel Aviv on New Year’s Day. We condemn the glorification of terrorism and all incitement to commit violence, whichever side it comes from. We regularly raise incitement with the Palestinian Authority, and have urged key figures to encourage calm and condemn violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the number of people working in logistics and transportation who experience mental health problems.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not assess the total number of people working in logistics and transportation who experience mental health problems.