The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, House of Lords Official Report, 27 April 2016, Column 1229, how many independent service police investigations have been carried out on allegations of civilian casualties during operations against Daesh in Iraq and Syria in the last five years.
Penny Mordaunt
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of skills within the NHS England workforce to deliver mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients.
David Mowat
NHS England’s National Clinical Director (NCD) for stroke is leading work to develop a full proposal which will consider the evidence and logistical issues involved in delivering mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients across the country. This includes working with the relevant specialist societies, Royal Colleges and Health Education England to consider the workforce implications. Once the proposal has been developed, NHS England will decide whether the procedure should be made widely available.
The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the latest data shows that 124 patients were treated between October 2015 and March 2016. It should be noted, however, that this may not reflect all patients treated as some may not have had their data entered into SSNAP.
The SSNAP team is addressing this issue with the relevant clinicians. SSNAP data is freely available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Prime Minister, what overseas visits she has made since her appointment.
Mrs Theresa May
Details of Ministerial overseas travel is published quarterly and is available on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of posts for teaching (a) English and (b) mathematics in further education colleges that are (i) unfilled and (ii) filled by teachers without a qualification in those subjects.
Nick Boles
The Department for Education does not hold this information. The Further Education sector is independent of government and we do not collect information about the numbers of English and Mathematics posts in further education colleges that are unfilled, or filled by teachers without a qualification in those subjects.
Both the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have had ongoing discussions with FE stakeholder organisations about our continued support for an increase in the numbers of well qualified and skilled teachers of English and Mathematics in the sector, as we set out in our FE Workforce Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2015-12-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what reasons nursing and midwifery students have given for discontinuing their courses in each year since 2010, including financial reasons.
Lord Prior of Brampton
This data is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the sale of illegally-produced alcohol in shops.
Damian Hinds
The Government is committed to tackling alcohol fraud. Alcohol producers have to be licensed or gain approval by HMRC to operate. Illegal production is off-record and often involves the counterfeiting of established alcohol brands; chiefly spirits.
Detections of illegally produced alcohol in shops are low. However, because of the potentially serious health consequences of consumption, vigilance by enforcement agencies and the public is crucial.
HMRC responds robustly to all discoveries of illegal production of alcohol and works collaboratively with other enforcement agencies such as Local Authority Trading Standards and the Police, to tackle the sale of counterfeit alcohol. As well as exchanging intelligence, HMRC and Trading Standards Officers take part in joint exercises targeting retailers in specific regions to detect illegal products. Agencies working together can bring a broader range of sanctions and penalties against those who chose to flout the laws.
Sales of alcohol that are suspected to be illegally produced, counterfeit or untaxed can be reported to HMRC by using hotline number 0800 595 000, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel with regard to the two Bedouin villages, Umm al-Ḥīrān and Atir, due to be destroyed by Israel in order to establish a new Jewish settlement and to plant a forest.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this situation closely. We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to work together to identify a satisfactory solution to the issue. We believe any solution must respect the equality of all Israel’s citizens, avoid forced relocations and be consistent with Israel’s commitments under international law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many successful prosecutions there have been against employers who have taken action against workers who have refused to work on Sundays under Section 45 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Anna Soubry
Section 45 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives certain shop workers and betting workers the right not to be subjected to detriment by their employers on the ground that the employee refused (or proposed to refuse) to do shop work, or betting work, on Sundays. This right can be enforced by bringing a complaint to the employment tribunal. There is no relevant criminal offence, so there have been no prosecutions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether learners studying on degree apprenticeship programmes are exempt from council tax.
Nick Boles
An apprenticeship is a paid job. An apprentice will earn a wage from the start of their degree apprenticeship. The benefits system, which includes council tax exemptions, treats an apprenticeship in the same way as any other job.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK’s commitment is to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces for 2016-17.
Mr Julian Brazier
We have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year.
HMS IRON DUKE (a Type 23 frigate) is deployed on a six month assignment with the Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 1, the Task Group focussed towards the North Atlantic and Baltic. A Type 45 destroyer will join this Group for a further two months later in the year. Since March, we have also provided a Royal Fleet Auxiliary unit to SNMG2 to support the NATO monitoring and surveillance task in the Aegean.
The Royal Navy (RN) will maintain a continuous presence in the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group (SNMCMG) 1, the mine clearance vessels which operate in the North Atlantic and Baltic, with a minehunter assigned throughout. This deployment is conducted by three minehunters in rotation for four months each: currently, HMS PEMBROKE is on task.
In addition, this year the RN is providing the Commander UK Maritime Forces as the NATO Response Force 2 star Maritime Component Commander, with his flagship HMS OCEAN. The RN also contributes personnel to the multinational staffs of the Standing Naval Forces on a rotational basis.
In 2017 the RN will assume command of two of the Standing Groups; providing the Commander and flagship for both SNMG2 and SNMCMG2 prioritised to the Mediterranean. The Command rotation will commence in July 2017 and run until June 2018. Additionally, the RN plans to provide a minehunter to SNMCMG1 throughout 2017, thereby providing UK presence in three of the four NATO Task Groups at some point during the year.