Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    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
  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many meetings she has had with businesses since May 2015 on increasing the number of women on company boards; and who those meetings were with.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have met with many business representatives since taking on our roles as Ministers for Women and Equalities. We have also met employers and business representatives as part of our plans to introduce gender pay gap reporting and always ensure that we use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards. This includes attending and speaking at conferences and events, including at the 30% Club and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which represents 190,000 businesses in the UK.

    Since May 2015, we have met numerous business leaders at conferences and events, including meetings with:

    • Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE

    • Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, CBE, CEO, Mitie Group PLC (in her capacity as Chair of the Women’s Business Council)

    • Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, CBE, CEO, Mitie Group PLC

    • Cilla Snowball, CBE, Group Chairman and Group CEO, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

    • Denis Woulfe, Partner, Deloitte LLP

    • Emer Timmons, President, BT Global Services UK

    • Fiona Dawson, Global President, Mars Food, Drinks, and Multisales, Mars Food

    • Sue Langley, OBE, Non-Executive Chairman, A J Gallagher UK, UK Asset Resolution Limited (Northern Rock Asset Management and Bradford & Bingley)

    • Sue O’Brien, OBE, Partner, Ridgeways Partners

    • Amanda Harrison, HR Director, Centrica PLC

    I also spoke at the launch of Lord Davies’s final report, which was attended by a large cross section of over 100 businesses.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses to the Government’s consultation on devolving Sunday trading rules were opposed to any relaxation of Sunday trading rules.

    Anna Soubry

    The consultation was about a specific proposal to devolve a power to extend trading hours on Sunday to local areas. The consultation did not ask respondents whether they supported or were opposed to a general relaxation of Sunday trading rules. The Department does not, therefore, hold information on this issue.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward separate legislative proposals on the proposed extension of High Speed 2 from the West Midlands to Crewe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill for HS2 from West Midlands to Crewe (HS2 Phase 2a) before the end of 2017. This will enable this section of route to open in 2027, six years earlier than originally planned. This means that cities across the North West and Scotland will realise more of the benefits of HS2 sooner.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities will retain rights of overage, clawback or pre-emption or any other interest in land transferred to her as a result of the Government’s recent academisation proposals.

    Edward Timpson

    In our recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, we announced our intention for the freehold of land at community schools to transfer to the Secretary of State on their conversion to Academy status. We are clear that we want all schools to become academies and are considering proposals to remove obstacles for schools – there are too many cases where negotiations over the use of land have delayed conversion to academy status.

    We are now working closely with local authorities to explore how these transfers will work in practice, including how we can best minimise the costs local authorities already face in relation to resolving land issues during conversion. The Secretary of State for Education already has the power to direct that where academy land is no longer required for a school, the land or any proceeds of sale can be returned to the local authority. That power will remain unchanged. We will, in considering how best to implement these measures, of course ensure that local needs are taken into account.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2016 to Question 37198, how many of the leaflets entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK have been returned to his Department; and what the postage cost to the Government has been of such returns.

    David Mundell

    I refer the hon Gentleman to the Prime Minister’s response of 25 May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the effect of the Adults at Risk policy for vulnerable people detained under immigration powers will be measured.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Consideration is being given to arrangements for measuring the impact of the adults at risk policy and other initiatives aimed at improving the safeguarding of vulnerable people in immigration detention. The expectation is that these initiatives will result in a reduction in the number of the most vulnerable who are detained. The Government intends to ask Stephen Shaw to carry out a short review next year in order to assess progress against the key actions from his previous report.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to engage with trades unions on the proposed reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government consulted on its reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and considered the responses it received from civil servants and others carefully. It held several meetings with unions during the consultation and then further meetings with unions that agreed to participate. An equalities impact assessment was published on 26 September alongside the Government’s consultation response.

    The Government believes its proposed reforms will provide a firm foundation for the management of the Civil Service and its people for a generation. The new terms compare favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and will align the Civil Service Compensation Scheme with reforms across the public sector. It will support employers in managing their workforce and simplify the exit process while treating employees respectfully and fairly.