Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training his Department has given to the Cyprus National Guard in each of the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Details of training provided to the Cyprus National Guard personnel by British Forces Cyprus or wider UK Defence capabilities, incorporating joint training activities, are as follows:

    May 2012 – Crisis response and joint Search and Rescue (SAR) training on Exercise ARGONAUT

    May 2013 – Crisis response and joint SAR training on Exercise ARGONAUT

    October 2013 – Public Order training with Sovereign Base Areas Police

    May 2014 – Crisis response and joint SAR training on Exercise ARGONAUT

    June 2014 – Joint SAR training with 84 Squadron RAF and the Republic of Cyprus SAR Squadron

    October 2014 – Range administrative training

    February 2015 – Small arms firing and range administrative training

    May 2015 – Crisis response training and joint SAR training on Exercise ARGONAUT

    July 2015 – Joint SAR training with 84 Sqn RAF and the Republic of Cyprus

    November 2015 – Joint medical (clinical study) training

    February 2016 – Joint Counter-Terrorism (CT) training on Exercise CHAMELEON

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of nationals from other EU member states who are on social housing waiting lists.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department’s annual Local Authority’s Housing Statistics provide information on the total households on local authority waiting lists in England but do not record nationality. The Department’s English Housing Survey does ask whether respondents are on a waiting list and also records nationality. The sample size, however, is not sufficient to provide a robust estimate by nationality.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what other migration routes or visas are available to a Tier 2 worker earning under £35,000 other than visas requiring participation in full-time education or marriage.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

    Alternative routes available for Tier 2 workers unable to meet the minimum earnings threshold would depend on their individual circumstances. For the most part, economic migrants who wish to change their basis of stay in the UK are expected to leave and re-apply for an alternative visa from their home country. However, in-country switching is permitted in some categories, for example into Tier 1 routes aimed at high value migrants.

    Tier 2 migrants who apply for settlement and do not meet the requirements will be refused. Those who do not qualify for an alternative route and have reached the maximum period of limited leave allowed under Tier 2 should make plans to leave the United Kingdom. Any migrant who has over stayed the validity of their visa or otherwise failed to regularise their stay in the UK may be removed if they refuse or fail to leave of their own volition. They may also be liable to prosecution under the Immigration Act 1971.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to process Disclosure and Barring Service checks for (a) standard and (b) enhanced disclosures between 1 January and 31 March 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    The average time taken to process Disclosure checks between 1 January and 31 March 2016 for (a) Standard was 6 days and (b) Enhanced was 16 days.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with officials in her Department on the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on recipients of overseas development assistance currently given to (a) the European Development Fund, (b) the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department and (c) the European Investment Bank.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID will make an assessment of how we will work with the European Union Institutions as part of the exit negotiations and we look forward to working with all of our international partners in future to achieve the best results possible.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14021, how many new teachers were trained in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The latest historical information on recruitment of new initial teacher trainees can be found in the ITT Census online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Army and (b) Army Reserve in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18, (iv) 2018-19 and (v) 2019-20.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The expenditure, or planned expenditure, of each Service on television recruitment campaigns in Financial Year (FY) 2015-16 is as follows:

    Naval Service – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £4.3 million for Regular personnel and £0.72 million for Reserves.

    Army – planned expenditure is £0.94 million for Regular personnel and £0.65 million for Reserves.

    Royal Air Force (RAF) – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £3.46 million. It is not possible to differentiate between Regular and Reserve spend as the majority of RAF advertisements are targeted towards both cadres.

    Plans for expenditure in FY 2016-17 and onwards have not been finalised.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 11 January 2016, Official Report, column 238WH, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of unsuccessful applicants for nursing training courses who met the entry criteria.

    Ben Gummer

    Information relating to the number and proportion of unsuccessful applicants is not collected by the Department.

    The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service collect and publish figures on the number of applications and the number of applicants accepted by subject for full-time undergraduate courses. However this data does not provide information on how many of the unsuccessful applicants to nursing would meet the entry criteria.

    The existing cap on the number of student places imposed by Health Education England means universities are limited to only offering places made available within the cap, plus a percentage above this to account for applicants offered places choosing other universities. Universities cannot accept more candidates who may meet entry criteria places as the number of places is capped.

    As part of the reforms to health higher education we are abolishing this cap, enabling universities to recruit as many eligible applicants as they choose.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on proposed changes to the contracts of Experts by Experience.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and adult social care. The CQC is responsible for its own staffing requirements, including any decisions on contracts around the supplying of experts by experience for its inspections of providers.

    In line with Cabinet Office approvals processes, the Department:

    • gave approval for the CQC to invite tenders for the Experts by Experience programme; and
    • having sought and received clarification of the business case from CQC, approved the business case, to enable the CQC to proceed with finalising new contracts for Experts by Experience.
  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to reduce carbon emissions from wood stoves.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Directive 2009/125/EC established a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. In April 2015 Commission Regulation 2015/1185 was published, which provides minimum standards for efficiencies of wood burning stoves placed on the European market from 2022 that will reduce their carbon emissions.

    Wood burning stoves that have a back boiler attached are supported through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The scheme applies only to Great Britain.

    Wood burning stoves are treated as having zero emissions for most inventory purposes, given that the biomass combustion releases the carbon captured during the trees’ lifetime; and that this loss of carbon from the forest is already recorded in the forestry section of the emissions inventory.

    Different carbon emissions figures are used for lifecycle analysis of biomass – but these often relate to the transportation of the fuel and fuel preparation. Evidence to date suggests the fuel used in wood burning stoves, such as logs, is frequently sourced very locally with minimal preparation, and therefore has a relatively small footprint.

    A tool is also available from Ofgem for calculating carbon emissions from biomass. It can be found on the Ofgem website at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/uk-solid-and-gaseous-biomass-carbon-calculator .