The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the global abolition of the death penalty.
Mr David Lidington
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 January (question 23192) to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of her Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been completed on time in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between her Department and private companies are held by SMEs.
George Eustice
Core Defra’s prompt payment reports do not distinguish between invoices from private companies and invoices from small and medium-sized enterprises.
Information on Defra’s prompt payment performance in respect of all supplier payments in 2015-16 is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-prompt-payment-performance-report.
The latest information on the expenditure Defra bodies have with SMEs is available at:
The information on the number of contracts core Defra has with SMEs could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost has been of establishing and running the Fit for Work programme to date.
Justin Tomlinson
The cost to the end of March 2016 of establishing and running Fit for Work is £25.8m. A further £1m was spent with PricewaterhouseCoopers on the independent audit function.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the World Health Organization about making Misoprostol available in conflict settings.
Baroness Verma
DFID has regular contact with the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crisis Situations (IAWG), of which WHO is a member.
The IAWG establishes technical standards for the delivery of reproductive health services in crisis contexts. Misoprostol is included in the drugs list for the IAWG’s Reproductive Health Kits for Crisis Situations, used to deliver the Minimal Initial Service Package for Reproductive Health in Crisis Situations (MISP), a series of crucial actions to respond to reproductive health needs at the onset of every humanitarian crisis. The UK advocates for full implementation of the MISP at the onset of emergencies.
DFID has supported the Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health Trust Fund that focuses on increasing the availability of misoprostol, as one of 13 life-saving commodities, in all countries as a follow up to the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the sustainable development goals that have 2020 deadlines will be met.
Rory Stewart
Of the 21 targets under the Global Goals for Sustainable Development that have a 2020 deadline, 11 of these fall within policy areas for which Defra is responsible. These goals and associated targets largely mirror the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and will be implemented through activities that are already in place in respect of the Aichi Targets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of retail businesses that have designated an appropriate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider for their sector in accordance with the EU ADR Directive.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government supports the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to help businesses and consumers save time and money when dealing with complaints. Approved ADR is available for every consumer to trader dispute in the UK.
We have not estimated what proportion of retail businesses have a designated ADR provider as it is open to the retailer to choose a different ADR provider with the necessary skills and experience to deal with a particular dispute.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute acts as the lead competent authority and has held working groups and individual meetings with the other competent authorities to ensure consistency of approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.
Caroline Dinenage
The Family Test was introduced in October 2014 and can be located at the following link Family Test Guidance
The Family Test is part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of new policy in line with the guidance. Potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships are identified and brought to the attention of Ministers where appropriate.
There is no requirement to publish the Family Test assessments. The Ministry of Justice does not collect information on the number of full Family Test assessments completed.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether Trawsfynydd former nuclear power station site in North Wales qualifies for inclusion in a list of possible small nuclear reactor sites in the UK.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government is currently undertaking a techno-economic assessment of SMRs which will provide a detailed analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing SMRs. The recent announcement by my Rt. Hon Friend Mr Chancellor of a competition to identify which SMR would offer the best value for development in the UK is a further demonstration of the Government’s commitment to exploring the potential of SMRs for the UK. As Government develops SMR policy further, we will address the issue of site identification for SMRs. No potential sites or siting criteria specifically for SMRs have currently been agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Leader of the House whether she will set up a working party to consider the combining of the contents of the Companion to the Standing Orders with those parts of Erskine May that refer to the House of Lords in order to produce a single reference volume reflecting the law, privilege, proceedings and usage of Parliament as applicable to the House.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
The Companion to the Standing Orders is the single authoritative statement of practice and procedure of the House, issued with the authority of the Procedure Committee.
Erskine May is edited by the Clerk of the House of Commons. It contains some additional information about the history and privileges of Parliament, including the House of Lords, and Lords Clerks contribute to its production, but for the House of Lords the resulting text does not have the authoritative status that it does in the House of Commons. For this reason, and in order to keep the Companion a manageable length, I do not propose to pursue amalgamation of the texts into a single volume.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the recital in paragraph one of section C of the revised version of the draft EU decision on a new settlement for the UK, what assessment he has made of whether the objectives of political integration enjoys wide support in the union.
Mr David Lidington
There is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices, too. The recital in paragraph one of section C makes clear that “the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the Treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union”.