The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department will provide substantive Answers to Questions 25366 and 25426 submitted on 2 February 2016.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The PQs have now been answered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department issues to Commanding Officers dealing with allegations of sexual assault, voyeurism and sexual activity in a public lavatory as set out in Schedule 2 of the Armed Forces Act 2006.
Mark Lancaster
Commanding Officers (COs) are under a statutory duty, under the Armed Forces Act 2006, to ensure that allegations of any offences, including those mentioned here which are not on Schedule 2, are investigated appropriately. If a CO becomes aware of an allegation or circumstances which would indicate to a reasonable person that one of these offences has been committed, he must ensure that it is investigated appropriately. The allegation must, therefore, be reported to the Service police if it would be appropriate.
Guidance for COs about their responsibilities in relation to the investigation of offences is set out in The Manual of Service Law at Volume 1, Chapter 6. Paragraph 30A refers to the offences of sexual assault, voyeurism, sexual activity in a public lavatory and exposure, stating that the CO should take legal advice to assist him in making the most appropriate decision as to who should investigate such matters and that there is a presumption that a CO should normally ensure that the Service police are aware of such an allegation. The CO has access to legal advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Guidance in the Manual of Service law does not preclude the Armed Forces from issuing further policy on this issue, if this would best meet the needs of their own Service. The Army and Royal Navy have therefore decided to issue a policy instruction to the effect that any cases with a sexual element should be referred to the Service Police for investigation, and the Royal Air Force is currently considering whether to adopt the same approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is the Government’s policy that the UK is part of the European Project, as that term is used by the EU Commission and the European Council; and if the Prime Minister will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
The Government is in favour of the UK remaining in a reformed EU. It has made its position on the referendum clear, and published a number of papers analysing the choice facing the British people.
As stated in the paper “The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union” published on 22 February 2016, the Government has secured agreement that the Treaties will be changed in the future so that the UK is carved out of ‘ever closer union’ and established a mechanism for decision-making to return from Brussels to the UK and other nation states, where this is most appropriate. This is all consistent with the UK’s longstanding approach to our relationship with the EU: that it should be based on the practical pursuit of our national interest. Our new settlement means that it has been formally recognised that the UK is not committed to further political integration into the EU and we have secured specific confirmation that the concept of ‘ever closer union’ will not apply to the UK in the future.”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children with refugee status in the UK have been granted permission to sponsor family members to join them under the refugee family reunion rules in each of the last three years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Under the Family Reunion Rules, children cannot sponsor family members. Any grant of leave in such cases would be on an exceptional basis outside the Immigration Rules. To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45594, on public sector: procurement, where the Crown Commercial Service analysis can be found that is referred to in that Answer.
Ben Gummer
The Crown Commercial Service analysis referred to was undertaken internally to facilitate answering the Hon Member’s previous question. The key data is reproduced below.
UK Tenders on Tenders Electronic Daily (Official journal of the EU) and Contracts Finder
|
MONTH |
TED |
CONTRACTS FINDER |
|
January 2016 |
812 |
2,577 |
|
February 2016 |
760 |
3,080 |
|
March 2016 |
987 |
3,256 |
|
April 2016 |
958 |
2,865 |
|
May 2016 |
881 |
2,960 |
|
June 2016 |
907 |
931 |
|
July 2016 |
1,033 |
2,853 |
|
August 2016 |
1,027 |
3,570 |
This clearly illustrates both the deferment in “Contract Finder” tenders during the EU referendum purdah period, and the lack of any significant change in the number of “Tenders Electronic Daily” opportunities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13951, which foreign military awards have been approved for members of the UK armed forces to wear; and what criteria are applied in determining such approval.
Mark Lancaster
The UK Armed Forces have a distinguished history of serving with great courage and professionalism in a wide-range of conflict situations; over the years various foreign military awards have been approved for acceptance and some of these have also been approved for wearing. A full list of the qualifying criteria for, and permission to wear, campaign medals, foreign medals and medals awarded by international organisations is available in Joint Service Publication 761 which can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396186/JSP761_honours_awards.pdf
Information on the numbers of UK Service personnel or veterans who have been awarded the NATO Africa Medal is not held by the Ministry of Defence as this is administered by NATO.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department’s rural satellite broadband voucher scheme, what estimate he has made of the average cost of (a) installation and (b) a 12 months subscription to 2 megabit rural satellite broadband services.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The initiative will be administered by local authorities who will provide a code to eligible homes and businesses upon request. The code does not have a specific fixed value, but when used to obtain a satellite broadband service from one of the selected retail service providers, the use of the code will reduce the total cost (i.e. installation and commissioning costs plus 12 monthly subscriptions) by around £350.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many diplomatic staff are based at the British Embassy in Tehran; and what change there has been in the number of such staff since the announcement of the reopening of that Embassy in 2015.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
There are currently 7 UK diplomatic staff based at the British Embassy in Tehran, including the new Charge d’affaires who arrived at Post on 31 December 2015. This is a significant increase from the 2 UK diplomatic staff that were based in Tehran before the formal reopening last year. We anticipate further additions to the number of Embassy staff in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the expenditure has been on the new National Living Wage advertising campaign to date.
Nick Boles
As of 26 January 2016, £378,826.28 had been spent on building awareness of the National Living Wage
The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will end at the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.
It is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at those that need it most.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has in place to provide accommodation for service personnel posted in Cyprus at short notice.
Mark Lancaster
British Forces Cyprus has available Service Family Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation that can be used for short notice posting of Service personnel. If the demand is in excess of that available at any one of the specific locations, temporary solutions would be adopted.