The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government Equalities Office has invited contact from the public for people working to support equality for men who deserve an honour.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government Equalities Office liaises with stakeholders to seek nominations for honours that fall within their remit. This includes men as well as women, equalities and LGB&T.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing Government tax incentives in the tech start-up sector in order to reduce the number of companies potentially unable to attract private investment after tax reliefs expire.
Jane Ellison
The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts scheme provide tax reliefs to encourage individuals to invest in early stage, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance. The government has no plans to withdraw these tax reliefs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of immigration detainees who are (a) foreign national offenders convicted of immigration offences, (b) foreign national offenders convicted of non-immigration offences and (c) other detainees were held in immigration detention for (i) 28 days or fewer, (ii) over 28 days but fewer than four months and (iii) over four months in the last year.
James Brokenshire
The below table provides details of immigration detainees detained at the end of June 2015 and is taken from quarterly published national statistics:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/detention
|
Held 28 Days or Fewer |
Over 28 Days But Fewer Than Four Months |
Four to Six Months |
Six to Twelve Months |
Over Twelve Months |
|
|
Foreign National Offenders |
30% (263) |
41% (365) |
10% (84) |
14% (123) |
5% (49) |
|
Other Detainees |
58% (1502) |
35% (899) |
4% (114) |
2% (62) |
1% (27) |
It is not possible to provide a break-down of foreign national offenders convicted of immigration offences and foreign national offenders convicted of non-immigration offences. Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean these questions could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 2 July 2014, Official Report, column 676W on AWE, what his most recent estimate is of the (a) anticipated out-turn cost and (b) projected in-service date of each of the new build projects in the Atomic Weapons Establishment Site Development Context Plan.
Michael Fallon
The approved costs and in-service dates of the current new build projects at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, are shown below.
In-service dates are shown in bandings to avoid prejudice to national security and defence. No costs are attributed to projects detailed in Table 2 as these have yet to be formally approved.
Table 1 – Approved new-build projects
|
Ongoing projects |
Function |
In-Service Period |
Approved cost £million |
|
Warhead assembly/disassembly – Mensa |
Manufacturing/production |
2016-20 |
734 |
|
Uranium components – Pegasus |
Manufacturing/production |
2016-20 |
634 |
Table 2 – Planned projects not yet approved
|
Ongoing projects |
Function |
In-Service Period |
|
Salts Processing – Octans |
Testing/research |
2020-25 |
|
Initiator system manufacture-Taurus |
Manufacturing/production |
2020-25 |
|
Large Scale formulations-Scorpius |
Manufacturing/production |
2025-30 |
|
Small Scale formulations-Cepheus |
Manufacturing/production |
2025-30 |
|
New Plutonium (Pu) Facility – not yet named |
Manufacturing/production |
2025-30 |
|
New depleted Uranium Facility |
Manufacturing/production |
2025-30 |
|
Assembly for Trials-Columba |
Testing/research |
2025-30 |
|
High Explosive Climatic Trials |
Testing/research |
2025-30 |
|
Non-Metallics & materials R&D-Libra |
Testing/research |
2025-30 |
|
Chemical processing-Astra |
Manufacturing/production |
2025-30 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support milk producers in ensuring milk prices in supermarkets are maintained.
George Eustice
We support the farming industry by reducing red tape, funding research to foster innovation, extending the tax averaging period for self-employed farmers and working to open up new export markets.
To provide some relief to hard-pressed farmers we secured a £26.6m aid package for the UK from the European Commission – the third largest of all Member States. Dairy farmers across the UK are being paid a one-off, flat rate payment linked to milk production. The majority of payments were made by the RPA on 16 November 2015.
The Government is working with the food industry – including supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers and caterers – on even more consistent labelling and branding of British dairy products, improving transparency across the supply chain and allocating more space on shop shelves. This will make it easier for consumers and food businesses to know when they are buying British dairy products.
A number of supermarkets have pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price and we should welcome that. It won’t solve the problem but it will give some respite to farmers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) physical state, (b) mass quantity and (c) total radiological quantity in Becquerels was of Defence Nuclear Materials transported or carried by fixed wing aircraft or helicopter in the last five years.
Penny Mordaunt
In the last five years, 23 flights carrying Defence Nuclear Materials (DNM) were undertaken. All flights were between the UK and the United States on fixed wing aircraft under the control of UK Armed Forces. No such flights passed over Scotland, or involved the use of helicopters.
I am withholding details of the physical state, mass and radiological quantity of DNM transported as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.
The transport of DNM is carried out to the highest standard in accordance with stringent safety regulations. In over 50 years of transporting DNM in the UK, there has never been an incident that has posed any radiation hazard to the public or to the environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department or Saxton Bampfylde Ltd approached any person to apply for the Pubs Code Adjudicator vacancy.
Anna Soubry
The Department and the contracted executive search agency, Saxton Bampfylde, approached individuals to consider applying for the Pubs Code Adjudicator vacancy. This was done in accordance with standard practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS agencies have changed their name or merged in the last (a) 12 and (b) 24 months; and what the cost was to the public purse of such mergers and name changes.
Ben Gummer
No National Health Service arm’s length bodies have merged or changed their name in the last 24 months. As of 1 April 2016, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) have been working under a shared leadership and operating framework as NHS Improvement. However, Monitor and the TDA have not formally merged. They continue to operate in line with their current legal underpinnings as two separate entities. In order to ensure that all NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts have access to the same kinds of support and interventions there will be much more alignment between the two organisations so that they can deliver what patients and taxpayers have a right to expect. As at the end of March, the cost associated with the recruitment of NHS Improvement’s Chief Executive and designing and supporting NHS Improvement’s new structure and operating model has been £655,190. There may have been other costs associated with the alignment of the two organisations but these have been absorbed in their baseline funding allocations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Ministers in his Department have visited Wales in an official capacity since the last UK general election.
Mike Penning
Details of all ministerial meetings are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/moj-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Skills Funding Agency on the potential effect of its proposal to introduce a register of apprenticeship providers on the ability of lead providers to sub-contract to smaller providers.
Robert Halfon
We have engaged with the Skills Funding Agency on the proposals to create a Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers in England. The intention of the proposals is to support a significant increase in the quality of apprenticeships and to create an employer-led apprenticeship system.
The Skills Funding Agency published their proposal on the Register on 12 August https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-apprenticeship-training-providers. Training providers and interested organisations were given the opportunity to comment on the proposals in a survey which closed on Monday 5 September. The Skills Funding Agency is now considering feedback on the consultation.
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