The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Burnett on 2015-12-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many complaints have been raised, and disciplinary proceedings brought, annually over the last 20 years involving the interaction between men and women serving on Royal Navy warships and submarines.
Earl Howe
This information is not held in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3861), what assessment they have made of why, when the UK ranks number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, nine other European countries have lower levels of smoking prevalence.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Countries use different ways to assess smoking prevalence within their population and there is variation as to whether they include daily, weekly, or occasional smokers within the figures. It is therefore not always possible to compare smoking prevalence rates directly between countries. In contrast, Joossens and Raws’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, uses a set criteria to assess the implementation of tobacco control policies across European countries, enabling a direct comparison to be made between the countries of tobacco control measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many custody nurses were employed by the Metropolitan Police (a) in total and (b) in each London borough in each year since 2010.
Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of custody nurses employed by the Metropolitan Police. This information may be held by the Metropolitan Police Force.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6.158 of the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of Tier 2 migration, published in December 2015, if she will commission an in-depth review of skills shortages in the IT industry.
James Brokenshire
The Government thanks the Migration Advisory Committee for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the processes and policies in place proactively to identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in service-people returning from war zones.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a range of processes in place to look after the mental health of personnel both on, and returning, from operations, including Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) and the post-operational decompression period. Personnel are given briefings on the possible psychological after-effects of deployment, as well as advice on seeking help and treatment if required. Efforts are being made to reduce the stigma that can be attached to all mental health issues, including PTSD, and this may be encouraging more Service personnel to come forward.
The MOD has also been working closely with King’s College London on a two-year study, funded by the US Department of Defense, looking at a possible post-operational mental health screening tool. The study was undertaken using UK Armed Forces personnel, and the results are currently being analysed. When published, the study will help us to understand the efficacy of screening; to consider whether such a tool would benefit the UK Armed Forces; and provide evidence on which the US can gauge its current policy on mental health screening.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what funding her Department has allocated to help develop clean energy storage.
Andrea Leadsom
Energy storage is one way to provide flexibility to the energy system and to help make best use of our low carbon electricity generation. DECC has provided more than £18m of innovation funding since 2012 for development and demonstration storage technologies; including funding for four storage technology demonstration projects. In the Budget 2016 announcement, the government confirmed that it would allocate at least £50 million to help innovation in energy storage, demand-side response (DSR) and other smart technologies over the next five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-07-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in council housing rents on new council housing and the existing stock.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Our decision on social rent reductions was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing, whilst protecting the most vulnerable. The housing benefit bill for the social sector in England rose by a quarter over ten years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. We believe that local authorities and private registered providers will be able to find and make efficiencies to accommodate the new rent settlement. The Government remains committed to delivering 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2021.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2016 to Question 44301, United Nations: finance, how much his Department contributed voluntarily to the missions referred to in each of the last five years.
Alok Sharma
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the UK’s assessed contributions for Special Political Mission thematic cluster I, which covers special and personal envoys and advisers of the UN Secretary General. This is paid as part of our contribution to the UN Regular Budget, which is mandatory under the UN Charter.
The UK Government has also, on occasion, provided additional targeted voluntary funding. Information about these discretionary payments is not held in a single consolidated form, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Government identifies and monitors the value and impact of providing the voluntary funding on a case-by-case basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of how effectively pupil premium funding is used by schools to support disadvantaged highly-able pupils.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The department recently published ‘Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils: Articulating Success and Good Practice’[1]. This is independent research on the effective use of the pupil premium, carried out by National Foundation for Educational Research.
On the basis of this report, the department published ‘Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: briefing for school leaders’[2], which reinforces the importance of supporting more able disadvantaged pupils to meet their potential.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December (HL4510), whether the Sea Lightnings carried aboard the Queen Elizabeth class will be a fully integrated part of the carrier battle group defence capability, as well as its long-range strike force.
Earl Howe
The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be protected by a layered defence, the composition of which will be tailored to the threat faced. This defence may include, but not be limited to, submarines and ships within the Maritime Task Group (including their embarked Lightning II aircraft, helicopters and unmanned air systems) as well as land-based aircraft, where applicable.