Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress has been made on the application by Romford Football Club to build a stadium on Westlands playing field; and when she expects a decision on that application will be reached.

    Edward Timpson

    School playing fields are protected by Section 77 of the SchoolStandards and Framework Act 1998. Schoolsand local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval beforethey can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of schoolplaying fields are considered by the independent school playing fields advisory panel, and are approved only when it is demonstrated that the application meets published criteria.

    We are aware of an application by Havering Local Authority to seek approval to dispose of part of Westlands Playing Field to Romford Football Club. The application is currently being processed by officials at the Education Funding Agency, who are seeking further detail from the local authority about the proposal. The application will only be considered when sufficient information is available to assess the overall benefit of the scheme against the needs of pupils and existing community users. The Secretary of State will consider the panel’s recommendation before making her final decision.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many tribunal cases there were related to (a) section 17 of the Equalities Act 2010, non-work pregnancy and maternity discrimination and (b) section 18 of the Equalities Act 2010, workplace pregnancy and maternity discrimination in each of the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Cases relating to Section 17 of the Equality Act 2010, non-work pregnancy and maternity discrimination, are dealt with in the civil courts. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The number of cases relating to Section 18 of the Equality Act 2010, workplace pregnancy and maternity discrimination, which have been received by the Employment Tribunal can be found in the statistics published at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015.

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on whether blueprints of (a) UK Magnox reactor designs and (b) URENCO uranium enrichment plant designs have been used by North Korea to manufacture plutonium and highly enriched uranium as fissile materials for use in its nuclear warhead programme.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain deeply concerned by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) development of a nuclear programme. We do not know whether the DPRK, in the development of its reactor, drew upon UK Magnox reactor designs which were made public in the 1950s and 60s. While the DPRK has made frequent public statements regarding its nuclear capabilities and WMD development, it provides little substantive information on the precise nature of those capabilities. UN Security Council Resolutions prohibit the provision of technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the manufacture of the DPRK’s nuclear-related programmes; the UK strongly supports international efforts to uphold this provision to prevent the proliferation of WMD.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are in place to ensure that no school is asked to admit a disproportionate number of children who have been excluded from other schools.

    Nick Gibb

    Each local authority is required to have a Fair Access Protocol in place, to ensure that unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. The protocol also ensures that no school is asked to take a disproportionate number of children with challenging behaviour or who have been excluded from other schools.

    All admission authorities, including those of academies and free schools, are required to participate in the Fair Access Protocol for their area.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many apprenticeship starts in the food and farming sector her Department estimates there will be in each of the next five academic years.

    George Eustice

    We aim to treble the number of apprenticeships started annually in food and farming from about 6,000 now to 18,000 by 2020. Defra will work closely with the Apprenticeship Delivery Board and the National Apprenticeship Service to support employers in the sector to engage successfully with apprenticeships. The introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017 is expected to provide an opportunity for growth in apprenticeships.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) cost of running and (b) number of full-time equivalent employees based within the Cities and Local Growth Unit in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Cities and Local Growth Unit is a joint BIS-DCLG team that supports a range of local growth activity. It was established in December 2013 to support policy areas including Growth Deals and City Deals. Its allocated headcount in the past three years has been 123 in 2013/14 and 2014/15, rising to 161.9 by the end of 2015/16, during which time it took on work in additional areas, including Devolution Deals, Enterprise Zones, and High Streets, Town Centres and Coastal Communities.

    The Department has estimated the running costs of the unit for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 as £2.52m, £6.88m and £9.57m respectively. The figure is low in 2013-14 as the Unit was established three months before the end of the financial year. This estimate includes pay and non-pay costs.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many European Arrest Warrant surrenders (a) to and (b) from each UK law enforcement agency there have been of people suspected of violent, sexual or other offences against women in each year since 2004; and of which offence each of those people was suspected.

    James Brokenshire

    The statistics provided by the National Crime Agency on their website: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics are not broken down in the manner requested (i.e., by gender). Additionally they are only available by offence-type from calendar year 2010.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of the Budget 2016, on funding for mesothelioma research, what criteria his Department used to make its decision on awarding that funding to four institutions centred around Imperial College.

    Greg Hands

    The award of £5 million for Mesothelioma to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma Research was in response to an application for charitable funds in order to urgently address the anticipated imminent high mortality rate amongst Royal Navy Veterans and dockyard workers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made a series of Banking Fines announcements since October 2012. Throughout all of these his intention has always been that the fines would be allocated to good causes including Military and Emergency Services charities and related good causes that represent the ‘best of values’. This award was committed by the Chancellor in accordance with his intent for the use of LIBOR fines articulated above.

    The National Mesothelioma Centre, to which the funds have been committed, will be a collaboration between four leading institutions which have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College, the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and the Royal Marsden Hospital. Scientists at NHLI and ICR have considerable expertise in the discovery of the genetic mutations which cause cancer, including mesothelioma, and in particular in the identification of ‘driver’ mutations which can be potential targets for new treatments. ICR has considerable experience of pulling through novel therapies into clinical practice. Their NHS partner hospitals – Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden Hospitals as national specialist centres have mesothelioma patients referred to them from across the UK. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre whose spokes will engage all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated. This will thus form the basis of a network to enable rapid evaluation of potential new treatments. The funds therefore have been committed to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma research, rather than to just 4 specific hospitals/research centres.

    Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor, the driving force behind the application, has, as per his original intention stated in his funding application, engaged across the Mesothelioma community, with a view to forming a steering group for the centre. Those he has contacted include: the British Lung Foundation, who have offered to fund raise with the centre for further resources for mesothelioma research; Ms Liz Darlison, of Mesothelioma UK; the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund; and the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum; Dr Robert Rintoul from Cambridge University; Prof Anne Willis and Marion Macfarlane and Dr John Le Quesne from Leicester University; and Prof Luciano Mutti from Manchester University. They have all expressed their support for the intention that these funds be used as a platform to foster collaborative research into an effective treatment for mesothelioma across the UK.

    The grant to the National Mesothelioma Centre is subject to standard grant terms and conditions including a reporting requirement to ensure that the funds are used as intended. It is not policy to publish all documentation relating to LIBOR awards, due to the large number of applications and associated correspondence.

  • Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police forces in England and Wales have dedicated slavery and trafficking units.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    This information is not held centrally by the Home Office.

    Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made with the implementation of the recommendations made in Lord Ashcroft’s Veterans’ Transition Review, published in February 2014.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) resettlement policy is continuously reviewed and the most recent update was issued in October 2015.

    Good progress has been made against the recommendations made in the Veterans’ Transition Review. Of the discrete recommendations 29 are fully in place and considered closed; and a number of remaining recommendations are partially in place with further development planned and time-tabled.

    The MOD continues to work with a number of charities, and the Government is committed to supporting their work. Actions already delivered include the provision of a 24-hour helpline for veterans, better support for those that leave the Service early so that all Service leavers get the provision they need, financial education for new recruits and better transfer of medical records.

    The MOD’s own Veterans Welfare Service is on the ground in every part of the UK providing one to one help and support to veterans with housing and any other problems they may have. Further work is under way to create a directory of Service charities so it is easier for veterans to find the support they need, and the contract for career transition support has been re-let to ensure it best meets the needs of veterans looking for jobs and training.