The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what savings have been made as a result of the seven-year contract awarded to the Post Office by the DVLA on 1 April 2013 in each financial year.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency saved £18.5m in 2013-14 and £17.0m in 2014-15 as a result of its contract with Post Office Ltd.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost of the trade envoy programme has been since its launch in September 2012.
Anna Soubry
To fulfil their overseas and UK travel commitments, there is a dedicated budget for the Trade Envoys.
Total cost of the programme to date has been £424,529
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an estimate of (a) the total level of immigration from other EU member states and (b) the annual number of people coming to settle in the UK from other EU member states which would trigger the activation of the proposed alert and safeguard emergency brake mechanism; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU member states and the European Commission on the appropriate thresholds for the emergency brake mechanism to be activated.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Alongside the conclusions of the February European Council, the European Commission made a separate Declaration on the emergency brake (the ‘Commission Declaration on the Safeguard Mechanism’). This Declaration set out the Commission’s view that the exceptional situation that the brake is intended to cover exists in the UK today.
Additional details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 4 March 2015 to Question 225425, what progress has been made on the assessment of the feasibility of the creation of a Sikh regiment.
Penny Mordaunt
The Armed Forces are working to increase the recruitment of military personnel from all ethnic and religious backgrounds and have made significant progress towards the set target of 10% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic enlistment to training by 2020. Measures have also been implemented to improve mutual understanding between the Army and the full range of UK communities in order to build better relationships between communities and military personnel.
The Ministry of Defence continues to look at all options relating to the recognition of Sikh values and traditions in our Armed Forces. Service personnel already benefit from a thriving British Armed Forces Sikh Association and a Sikh chaplain to the military; work is ongoing to ensure that policy supports the active participation of the Sikh religion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit on gender equality; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The World Humanitarian Summit made real gains for gender equality in humanitarian responses. This was a priority of the UK at the Summit and our call to put gender equality at the heart of 21st century humanitarian action was loudly echoed by many. There was strong agreement on the need to go beyond protection and make sure girls and women have a voice, choice, and control, even when crises hit. New Member States joined the Call to Action on Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (launched by UK in 2013) and commitments were made to ensure the right to sexual and reproductive health care is fulfilled for all women and adolescent girls in crisis settings.
My colleague, the Secretary of State for International Development, has already given her impressions of the Summit in a Written Ministerial Statement to the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England published all of the recommendations made in June 2016 by its Clinical Priorities Advisory Group relating to the medical interventions in the Cancer Programme of Care listed in Appendix 3 of NHS England’s paper on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)-HIV Prevention, published in May 2016.
David Mowat
NHS England has published all of the recommendations made by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) which relate to interventions in the Cancer Programme of Care, listed in Appendix 3 of NHS England’s paper on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)-HIV Prevention.
The majority of recommendations were published in June 2016, except those that CPAG had already considered (as in-year service developments) in early 2016. This includes policies relating to chemotherapy drugs and everolimus to treat angiomyolipomas, which were included in the PrEP paper in error.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to work with the art and antiques industries to address the sale of ivory in the UK.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
My immediate predecessor met, and officials have had a number of discussions with, representatives of the arts and antique sectors over the past 18 months to discuss issues surrounding the sale of ivory in the UK. This included exploring issues that informed our announcement, made on 21 September, of plans for a ban on the sale of ivory items produced from 1947 to the present day.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will undertake a review into how his Department advises British citizens on the ethical rating of nations in line with performing to international standards on the illegal wildlife trade.
James Duddridge
The UK plays a leading role in encouraging countries to take action to stop poaching of endangered species and to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products. For example, the UK drafted both the London Declaration from the London Conference on IWT in 2014 and the Kasane Statement from the Botswana Conference of March 2015 to push countries into committing themselves to ambitious actions to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. A review was compiled for the Botswana Conference showing progress by countries on the commitments to action agreed at London. These documents have been made publicly available on www.gov.uk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of per capita funding for students in (1) school sixth forms in schools, (2) sixth form colleges, and (3) further education colleges.
Lord Nash
Funding for all 16-19 institutions comes from the same national funding formula. The national base rate for 16-19 year olds in full time education is £4,000 per student. Weightings related to disadvantage, programme costs and area costs are added to the base rate funding, to reflect additional costs faced by different institutions.
The overall average units of funding for the 2015/16 academic year are:
|
Schools and Academy Sixth Forms |
£4,567 |
|
Sixth Form Colleges |
£4,670 |
|
General Further Education and Specialist Colleges |
£4,973 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The British Government has repeatedly condemned settlement announcements. In meetings with our Israeli counterparts we continue to call on the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building as required under international law. On 24 November, I reiterated our opposition to Israeli settlements in my meeting with Israel’s Head of Military Intelligence. On 10 September, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised our concerns about settlement building with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.