Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Sharkey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Sharkey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mechanisms exist to scrutinise the Channel programme and Prevent strategy, and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of those mechanisms.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has developed a dual approach to assessing the effectiveness of initiatives funded by the Prevent strategy, including the Channel programme. It is based on comprehensive monitoring systems which track outcomes over time and robust evaluation techniques.

    In addition, the Prevent Oversight Board, chaired by the Minister for Security, has responsibility to oversee the delivery of the Prevent Programme.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) value of maintenance grants issued in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    Statistics showing the number and value of Maintenance Grants awarded to English applicants for study at UK providers are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’.

    The latest publication covering the last five academic years can be found here:

    "http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx"

    Publications covering previous academic years can be found here:

    http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/full-catalogue-of-official-statistics/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england.aspx

    “

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Prime Minister will make an assessment of the number of people in Syria who have been displaced as a result of UK military intervention in that country.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The purpose of coalition airstrikes against Daesh is to degrade its ability to project military force within Syria and Iraq, which is one source of displacement as non-combatants flee from Daesh’s sphere of influence. Coalition airstrikes have been proceeding since September 2014. Coalition partners do all they can to minimise the risks of civilian impact of coalition military action in line with international law.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26409, what the role and location is of each of the six Reaper Force personnel embedded with the US Armed Forces; and with which units they are embedded.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The six embedded personnel are undertaking various training, test and evaluation duties at Holloman Air Force Base and Creech Air Force Base.

  • Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the UK’s domestic and international human rights obligations.

    Jeremy Wright

    I meet regularly with Ministerial colleagues to discuss important issues of common interest, including on domestic and international human rights law. I am not able to talk about any legal content of those discussions because, by convention, whether the Law Officers have given advice or not is not disclosed outside Government.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will use the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016 to agree a timetable to force UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to publish central, public registers of beneficial ownership.

    Matthew Hancock

    Our priority for the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies has been for them to establish a central register of beneficial ownership information (or a similarly effective system) where they do not already have one, and for UK law enforcement and tax authorities to have full and automatic access to that information. As has previously been set out the registers will not be public, these measures will place our Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories well ahead of many other similar jurisdictions and represent a significant step forward in our ability to counter criminal activity.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current value of contracts is between his Department and Boeing and Boeing UK; and what proportion of work under those contracts is carried out in the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The current value of contracts between the Ministry of Defence and Boeing and Boeing Defence UK Ltd is approximately £665.75 million and £2.49 billion respectively. Contracts are also held with the Boeing subsidiaries Aviation Training International Ltd and Jeppesen UK Ltd amounting to £415.91 million and £6.59 million respectively.

    The proportion of work by value carried out in the UK is around 53 per cent. This figure is based on direct contracts where the location of work code indicates that work is undertaken in the UK.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to increase the participation of people living with disabilities in (a) sports and (c) the arts.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government recognises the importance of sport and physical activity to disabled people who take part at both grassroots and the elite level. Our new sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, emphasises the importance of getting people active, particularly those groups currently under-represented, including disabled people.

    Between 2011 and 2017 Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport. It published its own strategy for England,Towards an Active Nation on 19 May, which sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. This includes a specific focus on disabled people who are less likely to regularly take part in physical activity.

    We believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture – having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access. Arts Council England has also made a significant change in its approach to diversity by launching The Creative Case for Diversity, which asks the organisations it funds to make themselves and their work more reflective of the communities they serve. As part of Arts Council’s investment in diversity and The Creative Case, four new strategic funds for diversity were announced in December 2015, totaling £8.6 million. This included a new £2.6 million Change Makers fund to build long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities, and Unlimited, which will support the development of a range of new work by deaf and disabled artists.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the recent National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme report.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The National Institute of Economic and Social Research Impact Study was just one of 6 reports comprising the independent evaluation of the first Troubled Families Programme. The evaluation found that the programme had many positive achievements. These include:

    • Families feeling more confident and optimistic about being able to cope in the future
    • Joining up local services for families by encouraging a single keyworker approach to work with the whole family on all of its problems
    • Raising the quality and capacity of local data systems
    • Better joint working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus

    The data shows that nearly 120,000 of the families on this programme saw their lives improve – more children attending school, youth crime and anti-social behaviour significantly cut and, in more than 18,000 families, an adult holding down a job. The evaluation does not dispute this fact.

    Unsurprisingly, the ambitious and innovative impact study which used national administrative datasets to track changes in families circumstances over comparatively short time periods, was unable to specifically attribute positive outcomes achieved in employment, youth crime or school attendance to the Troubled Families Programme.

    This was because at that time the level of change achieved was not significantly different from that seen in a group of families not on the programme with whom comparisons were made. This is not the same, however, as saying that the evaluation shows family outcomes did not improve, as some have wrongly inferred.

    Of course, we will continue to review all evidence of how the programme is working, to learn from it and see if there’s more we can do to help families facing such multiple problems. In fact, we have already adapted the new programme in a number of ways, including extending the length of time over which family outcomes will be tracked – from 12 months to 5 years.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will expand the Cycle to Work salary-sacrifice scheme to provide employees with access to tax-free physical activity accessories and personalised activity plans for themselves and their families.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Finance Act 1999 and the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 introduced an annual tax exemption, which allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The Cycle to Work scheme is not run by Government but was created by the cycle industry to take advantage of the tax exemption. The Department, in co-operation with the then Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the cycle industry, published guidance in June 2005. As there are qualifying criteria in order to be eligible for the tax exemption, any changes to the scheme should be referred to HM Revenue and Customs.